CHICAGO – You know those dreams where it feels like time slows down and you're swimming through Jell-O?

Jonathan Greenard felt that Sunday afternoon, though the situation – and result – was very much real.

The Vikings saw a 10-point lead rapidly dissolve as the Bears scored, recovered the onside kick and scored again, forcing the game into overtime. But Minnesota kept its composure and ultimately left Soldier Field with a 30-27 win, thanks in part to Greenard's critical sack two plays into OT.

"Honestly I probably shouldn't have gotten it – I had two guys on me, the running back and tight end, they actually were blocking me up, man, and I honestly should not have ever made that play," Greenard said postgame. "But I just kept straining, kept pushing, knowing that eventually — I was hoping he didn't get the ball [out].

"It definitely felt like slow motion," he added. "I mean, at that point it was like, 'There's no way he did not throw the ball yet, right?' But at the same time, it's overtime, a younger quarterback, he's gonna try to make that play. As he should."

But Greenard stayed at it, using all his energy to push against D'Andre Swift and Cole Kmet before finally breaking free to chase down rookie QB Caleb Williams, box him in and take him to the ground.

"When I did get let go, man, I seen the ball [was still] there, and I just made a play," Greenard said. "It was crazy."

For fellow pass rusher Pat Jones II, said it wasn't all that crazy to see Greenard show up in a crucial moment.

"There's a saying: 'big-time players make big-time plays,' " Jones said. "He's a big-time player. So in [moments] like that, you just know that's what he does."

Vikings safety Camryn Bynum also was acutely aware of how much time Greenard had to get to Williams.

"As soon as he started scrambling around, running around, I had to just find a receiver [and stay on him], because I knew all day he was able to scramble really well," Bynum said of Williams. "We knew that going in, that he's one of those quarterbacks who's going to extend the play so I really had to just find my guys. I didn't see the sack, but I was just really thankful."

Greenard's sack of Williams backed the Bears up to third-and-21; a subsequent delay-of-game penalty then made it third-and-26. Williams was able to get off a pass to DJ Moore but it gained only 10 yards, and Chicago was forced to punt.

The defensive stop gave Sam Darnold and Company a chance to make something happen, and that's exactly what they did.

Despite being sacked on the first play, Darnold helped lead the offense 70 yards to set up a 29-yard, game-winning field goal by Parker Romo.

The Vikings, of course, know they never should have put themselves into an extra period to begin with.

Keenan Allen caught a 1-yard touchdown with just 22 seconds left in regulation, and a Williams-to-Moore 2-point conversion attempt also succeeded. Still, Minnesota held a 3-point lead.

After the Bears recovered onside kick, the Vikings gave up a 27-yard completion to Allen that allowed Chicago to line up, spike the ball to stop the clock and kick the field goal that earned a trip to overtime.

Bynum said the Minnesota sideline had no choice but to regroup, dial in and decide it might have bent but it would not break.

"We just had to forget about that last play," Bynum said. "Everything about the ending of that game was ugly, but knowing that it's overtime, we still have a chance to win this game. We had to really lock in, and we did, and we're proud of ourselves for that."

Players and coaches on both teams had all week anticipated a gritty, physical game, and the Week 12 throwdown turned out to be just that.

Williams made a number of impressive plays and on more than one occasion escaped the pocket to find a receiver, as Bynum had mentioned.

"He's that type of quarterback to make you have to cover longer than you normally do. The pocket is always going to be moving with him, and he's going to try and get out," Bynum reiterated. "And he's getting out there to throw the ball; he's not just a typical 'scramble to run' guy. He's scrambling looking downfield. So that makes it a challenge, for sure."

Williams finished the outing 32-of-47 passing for 340 yards and two touchdowns with a 103.1 passer rating.

The Vikings defenders got so close multiple times to picking off Williams or making a significant pass breakup but never were able to come away with the splash play.

"Three of us dropped interceptions today," Bynum said, referring to himself, Harrison Smith and Stephon Gilmore having near takeaways. "That's never our standard, and it's one of those things where if any one of us caught the ball, it changes the game.

"We know that we're getting there, we're seeing the ball, we're getting to the ball — but we have to finish," Bynum added.

Though the defense didn't force any turnovers, defensive tackle Jerry Tillery logged a game-changer on special teams.

Midway through the second quarter, Bears kicker Cairo Santos attempted a 48-yard field goal, but Tillery reached up and hit the ball, knocking it into the hands of Brian Asamoah II. The Vikings got possession at their own 47 and capped the drive with a 5-yard touchdown by Jalen Nailor.

"It's something we wanted to attack," Tillery said. "We knew we had a chance … but we still had to go out there and execute our game plan. And we were able to and got a good push up front and able to get a big hand up and knock one down."

It was the first blocked field goal of Tillery's career. He also had blocked an extra point while with the Chargers in a game against the Chiefs in 2020.

Tillery noted that he nearly replicated the block on the Bears final field goal that sent the game into overtime.

"That was the one we wanted," Tillery said. "We had a good plan on the field goal block team all week. It's a big focus for us because that wipes points off the board for them. That's a big play for the team.

"Those types of plays can really swing momentum," he added.

Sunday's game seemingly featured momentum swings back and forth all day long.

Minnesota's defense had its hands full with Allen, who entered the game averaging 136.3 receiving yards in four career games against the Vikings. He entered the contest with his single-game high this season being 44 yards but easily surpassed that, recording nine catches for 86 yards. Moore caught all seven passes sent his way by Williams, leading the Bears with 106 yards, and Kmet added another 64 yards through the air on seven receptions.

The Vikings stymied the Bears run game, allowing Swift just 30 yards on 13 carries. Williams scrambled six times for 33 yards.

It wasn't always pretty, but a win is a win in the NFL, and Minnesota wrapped up its stretch of three straight road games without a loss. The Vikings are heading back to the Twin Cities with a 9-2 record and with three consecutive home games waiting for them.

"We knew we made it way too easy on them today, and it wasn't up to our standard. But still, there's nothing better than leaving with a win," Bynum said. "Now it's time to fix our mistakes and just continue."