2:47 PM - The Vikings go 48 yards in eight plays on that drive.
Teddy Bridgewater throws his fourth touchdown pass of the game to Zach Line for four yards. It's Line's first career touchdown reception. The Vikings lead 38-17.
2:38 PM – The Vikings are imposing their will on the adversary.
Chicago is resilient, too. They cut into the Vikings lead midway through the 4th quarter with a Jay Cutler-to-Matt Forte TD toss.
That made the score 31-17 in favor of the Vikings. But the Vikings offense came on the field and marched its way down the field, primarily on the ground with Matt Asiata, Jerick McKinnon and even Adam Thielen.
The drive ended with a 3-yard Matt Asiata TD plunge.
The Blair Walsh PAT put the Vikings ahead 38-17 with fewer than 2 minutes to play in the game.
2:26 PM –Touchdown Teddy!
After DE Justin Trattou read a Bears screen pass and intercepted Jay Cutler's pass, the Vikings offense was setup with great field position at the CHI 13. Just moments later on 3rd down, Teddy Bridgewater dropped back to pass and saw no one open. With the pass rush closing in, Bridgewater tucked the ball and sprinted up the middle of the field toward the goal line. He left his feet and was propelled into the end zone as he reached the ball out to make sure he crossed the plane of the goal line.
The officials signaled for a TD, a penalty against the Bears was declined, and after the Blair Walsh PAT the Vikings extended their lead to 31-10 midway through the 4th quarter. Bridgewater has now accounted for 4 TDs on the day.
With the Carolina Panthers all over the NY Giants, those of you scoreboard watching should keep an eye on the Jaguars-Falcons game. If the Jaguars win and the Vikings hold on at TCF Bank Stadium, the Vikings will qualify for the postseason.
1:45 PM –Teddy and Diggs strike again.
After Brian Robison's huge sack-strip-recovery, Teddy Bridgewater and Co. took the field and found the end zone. Bridgewater hit Jarius Wright on a shallow crossing route to convert a 3rd down, and then moments later Bridgewater found Stefon Diggs, also on a crossing route. Diggs caught the pass at the 25 and found the right edge to get down the sideline. He cut back to the inside and dragged a defender into the end zone for the 33-yard score.
It was the second TD of the day for Diggs, the first 2-TD game of his career, and it was the third TD for Bridgewater, the first 3-TD game of his career. For the day, Bridgewater is 13 of 16 for 204 yards with 3 TDs and 0 INTs
1:37 PM –And just like that, the Vikings defense comes up huge again.
DE Brian Robison got around the left side and sacked QB Jay Cutler. As he was taking Cutler to the ground, he stripped the ball and recovered it. A trifecta for the veteran defender.
The Vikings now have the ball back at their own 45.
1:34 PM –We may be in for an interesting second half.
Chicago was set to kickoff to the Vikings with the chance of seeing their deficit increase even more after giving up a TD late in the 2nd quarter. But they decided to try an onside kick to open the half, and it worked.
Chicago has the ball near midfield early in the 3rd quarter.
1:15 PM –Another TD for the Vikings.
This time it's Jerick McKinnon, the first TD of the second-year RB's career. It came on a 3rd and 7 pass from Teddy Bridgewater as Bridgewater hit low on a CB blitz. McKinnon caught the pass and drug a defender into the end zone. The TD stood after an official review. Blair Walsh's PAT was good, putting the Vikings back ahead by 10 at 17-7.
Chicago was assessed a penalty on the low hit on Bridgewater, but the Vikings were also penalized for unsportsmanlike conduct after the TD. That means there will be no penalty enforced on the kickoff.
In a bit of concerning news, Adrian Peterson was taken to the locker room with an apparent leg injury. Both he and Xavier Rhodes are now out of the game, with their status for the remainder of the game still unknown. Bridgewater also limped off the field following the low hit on him.
12:57 PM –Chicago has settled down and they've gotten on the board.
Jay Cutler found Alshon Jeffery after breaking the pocket to buy time. The TD toss-and-catch plus the Robbie Gould PAT cut into the Vikings lead, which is now 10-7 with 5:40 to play.
Xavier Rhodes broke up a pass in the end zone at the end of the drive but limped off the field after the play. No update on his status but we'll provide one when it's available.
12:34 PM –The Vikings have extended their lead.
The defense forced a Bears three-and-out following the TD drive, and the offense drove 36 yards in 8 plays to put Blair Walsh in position for a 53-yard FG try. The snap was high but the hold was good, and Walsh drilled a line drive kick that bounded off the left upright and bounced in.
The FG gave the Vikings a 10-0 lead with 14:22 to play in the 2nd quarter.
Walsh is 4 of 6 from 50+ this season.
12:20 PM –A great start for the Vikings has them out to an early 7-0 lead.
Chicago returned the opening kickoff 49 yards to midfield and then RB Matt Forte ripped off a 35-yard run. But that run was negated by a holding penalty, and Chicago did nothing after that. A Bears punt was downed on the 7.
The Vikings offense promptly took the field and drove the entire distance to score a TD on a beautifully thrown fade route to Stefon Diggs. The PAT was good and the Vikings are off and running.
On the drive, Teddy Bridgewater was 4 of 6 for 59 yards, including the 15-yard TD to Diggs. Adrian Peterson had 7 carries for 29 yards.
10:38 AM- Some good news, and some bad news when it comes to the two questionable players for the Vikings today. The bad news is that DT Linval Joseph will miss his third straight game due to a foot injury suffered in the win over the Falcons in Week 12. Joseph returned to practice in a limited fashion on Thursday and Friday this week, but obviously didn't make enough progress to be active today. Sharrif Floyd, Tom Johnson and Kenrick Ellis will help fill the void.
The good news for the Vikings is DE Everson Griffen, who didn't practice Wednesday or Thursday and was limited on Friday due to a shoulder injury, is active and will start today.
S Harrison Smith (knee / hamstring) and LB Anthony Barr (hand / groin) were ruled out on Friday, so the Vikings will once again be very shorthanded on defense.
Rookie Anthony Harris will start at safety along side Andrew Sendejo, who makes his return from injury after missing the last two games.
Rookie Edmond Robinson will again start in place of Barr at linebacker.
Here is the full list of Vikings' inactives:
QB Taylor Heinicke
WR Charles Johnson
S Harrison Smith
LB Anthony Barr
C Nick Easton
OL Jeremiah Sirles
DT Linval Joseph
Each of the Bears players that were listed as questionable on Friday are active for today's game.
7:01 AM - In advance of today's game against the Chicago Bears at TCF Bank Stadium, where the Vikings have a chance to lock up a playoff spot depending upon how things go both here and around the league, watch all four segments from today's episode of "Vikings GamePlan" via the embeds below.
