The Vikings grinded out a 20-17 win over the Bears on Monday in a game that seemed to have a little bit of everything.
**More gritty than pretty**, a victory — especially at Soldier Field — is never going to be turned down.
Minnesota improved to 3-2 and 1-1 in the NFC North; Chicago fell to 1-4 and 0-2 in the division.
The Vikings defense responded to a game-tying touchdown with 12:24 remaining by not allowing another first down by the Bears and limiting Chicago to 13 net yards in the rest of the game.
Minnesota's offense helped with three drives that totaled 9:59 and flipped field position. Chicago never made it past its own 28-yard line the rest of the game.
Here are three stats that stood out.
1. Keenum on the money
Case Keenum stepped in for Sam Bradford, who re-aggravated a knee injury suffered in Week 1, and completed his first six passes. Keenum finished 17-of-21 passing for 140 yards with a touchdown, no turnovers and a passer rating of 110.5.
According to Pro Football Focus, two of the incompletions resulted in drops, so the analytics site calculated an accuracy percentage of 90.5, which led all quarterbacks in Week 5.
PFF noted that the Vikings relied on a steady array of short passes in the city known for Deep Dish.
Seven of Keenum's 21 passes were thrown to a player behind the line of scrimmage, and nine were thrown between the line of scrimmage and nine yards beyond it.
2. No-fly zones
Vikings safety Harrison Smith received an overall grade of 90.2 from Pro Football Focus, which noted effectiveness against the run and an impressive performance against the pass.
PFF counted four passes thrown into Smith's coverage, and the only one caught by a Bears player (Tarik Cohen) lost three yards. Smith then provided the clutch interception with the score tied at 17 and 2:20 remaining in the game.
Pro Football Focus also noted the respect factor by the Bears toward Xavier Rhodes, who was not targeted a single time for the first time in 64 career games. PFF calculated that Rhodes was targeted 24 times in the first four games of the season and allowed 12 receptions for 126 yards.
3. Tricky Trubisky
Bears rookie quarterback Mitchell Trubisky, the second overall pick of the 2017 NFL Draft, made his first regular-season start. He finished 12-of-25 passing for 128 yards, one touchdown and two turnovers for a passer rating of 60.1.
The Vikings hadn't been able to study much film on Trubisky, who seemed to be at his best when using his mobility.
PFF noted Trubisky was 4-of-7 passing for 64 yards and a score (passer rating of 127.4) when the Bears set up throws with play action. When they didn't, however, he was 8-of-18 passing for 64 yards and the interception to Smith (passer rating of 30.8). The 96.6 difference between play-action passes and throws that weren't preceded by play fakes was the largest margin for any quarterback in Week 5, according to PFF.
