CHICAGO — As time progressed, the significance of winning in Chicago grew in the mind of Brian Robison as the memory of doing so became more distant.
Robison was a rookie in 2007, which until Sunday was the most recent time Minnesota had one at Soldier Field. Robison, Chad Greenway and Adrian Peterson are the only three Vikings who are still with the team.
Robison admitted after Sunday's 23-20 comeback win that he had been thinking about the drought.
"Hell yeah, it weighed on my mind," Robison said. "I've been thinking about this for three weeks and trying to keep it out of my mind so I could focus on the task at hand. I postponed Halloween parties and everything else just so we could get this win.
"This is something, that I knew if we could get done, this was a true hump game for us," Robison continued. It was a true test to see if we had turned the corner or not. Everybody talked about last week being a hump game, nah, this week was a hump game, but at the same time, this is one of those games, that if we don't put it behind us, it can affect us next week."
Minnesota (5-2) has its first three-game winning streak since 2012, the same season in which the Vikings last claimed consecutive road wins. As for two in a divisional road games in a row, that last happened in 1998.
With that historical perspective in mind, it's worth noting a couple of contributions made by younger players.
— Danielle Hunter recorded his first full sack, helped escort Marcus Sherels down the sideline and pressured a punt by Patrick O'Donnell.
— Eric Kendricks started his fourth straight game and finished with seven tackles (press box tally).
— Second-year pro Teddy Bridgewater made a pair of throws when the Vikings needed them most, connecting with Stefon Diggs for a 40-yard catch-and-run touchdown and with Charles Johnson for a 35-yard reception. Bridgewater improved to 11-8 as a starting QB and scrambled for a gain of 19 on the ground.
"I think it's a huge milestone," Bridgewater said. "The guys knew it was going to be a challenge coming into this game, and we knew how important this game was. Not only with the history of not winning here since 2007, but it was another opportunity to get a divisional win on the road. In this league, wins are hard to come by. It's just a great job by the guys competing, understanding that it was going to be a 60-minute game. Guys just played at a high level."
In between the two series that were highlighted by the Diggs and Johnson completions, the defense forced a three-and-punt.
"We just knew the ball game was in our hands if we were able to stop them, it gave us an opportunity to win the ball game," Robison said. "If you want to be one of the best defenses in the league, you want that type of game in your hands."
Diggs is part of a rookie class that doesn't know what it's like to lose in Chicago.
"This is my first time in Chicago. They said we haven't won here in a while," Diggs said. "You just try to prepare the right way and get a W. As far as the young guys, you just try to do what you can. We've got a great group of young guys. Eric Kendricks, Danielle Hunter, everybody. All those guys are playing at a high level. It's good to show your coach trusts you, no matter what age you are. If you're ready, you're ready."
Minnesota will host St. Louis (4-3) at noon (CT) Sunday.
