Sunday's NFC North game between the visiting Vikings and Bears was a tale of possession offense by Chicago and losing possession of the football by Minnesota.
The Vikings committed two turnovers — one by receiver Stefon Diggs after a catch and on one of the two fumbles by Kirk Cousins on sacks by the Bears.
Chicago scored on the opening possession after losing starting quarterback Mitchell Trubisky. Chase Daniel entered the game in relief and was able to convert a fourth-and-1 on a quarterback sneak during the opening drive.
He played solid, the Bears leaned on the run (33 rushes for 72 yards) and entrusted the rest to their defense, which menaced Minnesota en route to a 16-6 victory at Soldier Field.
The Bears limited the Vikings rushing attack to 40 yards on 16 rushes, then teed off time and time again on pass plays, recording six sacks of Cousins.
Chicago improved to 3-1 on the season and 1-1 in the NFC North. Minnesota fell to 2-2 with an 0-2 mark in the division.
The Bears possessed the ball for nearly half of the first quarter on their opening possession and finished with a whopping 35:27.
Cousins and the Vikings tried to rally with a late touchdown — a 2-yard run by Dalvin Cook with less than three minutes remaining. An onside kick attempt was unsuccessful, and even though the defense forced a punt, Minnesota's offense was stopped on downs.
Cousins finished 27-of-36 passing for 233 yards and a rating of 91.6. The Vikings lost 51 yards on the six sacks.
Cook finished with 35 rushing yards on 14 attempts. His long on the ground was 9 yards. He added 35 yards through the air on six receptions with a long of 13.
Stefon Diggs led Minnesota with seven receptions and a game- and season-high 108 yards. The Bears were able to limit counterpart Adam Thielen to six yards on two receptions.
The Bears led at halftime, scoring a touchdown on their first possession of the game and a field goal on their final series of the first half.
Chicago hogged the football as Minnesota's defense struggled to get off the field. The Bears totaled 13 first downs, compared to seven by the Vikings and netted 182 yards of offense on 37 plays while allowing 59 yards on 21 plays.
Daniel completed 16 of 21 passes for 138 yards with a touchdown and passer rating of 108.8 in the first half after coming in for Trubisky on the seventh play of the game.
Trubisky was injured when he was sacked by Danielle Hunter and fumbled the ball. It was recovered by Everson Griffen, but the play was negated because of a holding penalty against Anthony Harris.
The Bears possessed the ball for 18:47 of the first half and were able to force a turnover when the Vikings were on the move, ending Minnesota's second possession of the game.
Cousins targeted Diggs on a first-and-10 from the Chicago 44. The play was initially ruled a pass breakup by Prince Amukamara and was whistled dead with Ha Ha Clinton-Dix holding the ball at the Chicago 20.
Chicago, however, challenged the call, and officials ruled that Diggs completed the catch before the ball was stripped by Amukamara. The Bears took over where Clinton-Dix had possession at the time of the whistle.
Scoring summary
Q1, 7:44 remaining
Bears 7, Vikings 0
Tarik Cohen catches a 10-yard pass from Chase Daniel (Eddy Pineiro kicks PAT) [14 plays, 75 yards, 7:16 time of possession]
By a nub: Fresh in for Mitchell Trubisky, Daniel was able to barely get a first down on a QB sneak to the Minnesota 42. It was the second consecutive sneak by Daniel, who needed 1 yard total on both attempts. The turf where the Vikings defensive line planted on the fourth-down play gave out, leaving a gigantic divot that Eric Kendricks helped repair. Officials measured, and the ball made it past the chain by a nub.
Q2, 0:00 remaining
Bears 10, Vikings 0
Pineiro kicks a 25-yard field goal [16 plays, 72 yards, 6:36]
Key conversion: The Bears were able to convert a fourth-and-3 from the Minnesota 38 with a 5-yard pass to Anthony Miller. The play occurred after Minnesota burned a timeout to avoid having 12 men on the field.
Chicago initially sent Pineiro and punter/holder Pat O'Donnell on the field, appearing like it would attempt a 56-yard field goal. After the Vikings timeout, the Bears decided to go for it and were able to burn the final 2:02 of the first half.
Q3, 12:47 remaining
Bears 13, Vikings 0
Pineiro kicks a 38-yard field goal [4 plays, minus-4 yards, 2:07]
Takeaway right away: The Bears started their first possession of the second half in the red zone at the Minnesota 16 after forcing a fumble by Kirk Cousins during a sack of the quarterback on the first snap of the third quarter.
Q3, 3:04 remaining
Bears 16, Vikings 0
Pineiro kicks a 30-yard field goal [9 plays, 67 yards, 4:59]
Big, then small: The drive started with a 37-yard pass from Daniel to Javon Wims, quickly moving from the Chicago 21 to the Minnesota 42. The Bears didn't have a play gain more than 7 yards on the rest of the possession.
Q4, 2:58 remaining
Bears 16, Vikings 6
Dalvin Cook rushes for a 2-yard touchdown (2-point conversion pass no good) [13 plays, 92 yards, 4:08]
Firsts for Bisi: Rookie Bisi Johnson recorded the first two receptions of his career during the possession for gains of 9 and 16.
