The Monday Night Football monkey is off Kirk Cousins' back.
Facing a tough Bears defense, Cousins delivered big throws, including a pair of touchdowns to Adam Thielen and stayed in command of the Vikings offense.
The quarterback blended between taking what was available and took his shots in leading Minnesota to a 19-13 victory over Chicago at Soldier Field.
The win was the first in 10 total starts on Monday Night Football for Cousins, who spent his childhood in the Chicagoland area getting coached by former Bears LB Mike Singletary.
On Monday Cousins navigated a defense featuring linebackers Khalil Mack, Roquan Smith and Danny Trevathan and a group looking to extend its strong performances against the Vikings vaunted running game.
Cousins finished 25-of-36 passing for 292 yards with the two scores. He did suffer one interception on a pass that bounced off Thielen's hands and into Mack's mits. Cousins' passer rating was 100.7.
He had help through the air for sure, with rookie Justin Jefferson totaling eight catches for 135 yards. The phenom tied Randy Moss' franchise record from 1998 with his fourth receiving game with at least 100 yards.
Kyle Rudolph added four receptions, including a 22-yarder that erased a holding penalty, and bounced back from an early fumble at the end of a catch.
Thielen added four receptions for 43 yards and provided the game's only two offensive touchdowns, bringing his career receiving total to 34 scores. He tied then passed Jake Reed and is now tied with Ahmad Rashad for sixth in Vikings history.
Dalvin Cook got the tough yards on the ground, carrying the ball 30 times for 96 yards. His long was 14, but he outlasted the Bears and found more room after defensive tackle Akiem Hicks left the game.
Minnesota improved to 4-5 on the season, and Chicago fell to 5-5. The Vikings have won three in a row, and the Bears have dropped four consecutive games as they head into their bye.
Former Viking Cordarrelle Patterson scored Chicago's only touchdown by returning the opening kickoff of the second half 104 yards for a score. He tied Josh Cribbs and Leon Washington for the most kickoff return touchdowns in NFL history (eight). Patterson added 30 rushing yards on 12 carries for a team that was without running back David Montgomery.
The Vikings defense limited Nick Foles to 15-of-26 passing for 106 yards. He was intercepted once and finished with a passer rating of 51.1. Foles was carted off late in the game and replaced by Tyler Bray, who was 1-of-5 passing for 18 yards.
Scoring Summary
Q1, 6:29 remaining
Vikings 7, Bears 0
Adam Thielen catches a 17-yard pass from Kirk Cousins (Dan Bailey kicks PAT) [6 plays, 41 yards, 3:05 time of possession]
Points off turnover: The Vikings struck quickly to capitalize on great field position that followed an interception by Harrison Smith. Thielen secured the grab with one arm for his 33rd career receiving touchdown.
Q1, 0:32 remaining
Vikings 7, Bears 3
Cairo Santos kicks a 23-yard field goal [14 plays, 70 yards, 5:57 time of possession]
Q2, 0:49 remaining
Vikings 7, Bears 6
Santos kicks a 42-yard field goal [5 plays, 21 yards, 1:02 time of possession]
Q3, 14:46 remaining
Bears 13, Vikings 7
Cordarrelle Patterson returns a kickoff 104 yards [0 plays, 0:14 time of possession]
Q3, 10:50 remaining
Bears 13, Vikings 10
Bailey kicks a 37-yard field goal [4 plays, 1 yard, 0:54 time of possession]
Q3, 1:52 remaining
Bears 13, Vikings 13
Bailey kicks a 43-yard field goal [7 plays, 60 yards, 3:20 time of possession]
Q4, 10:06 remaining
Vikings 19, Bears 13
Thielen catches a 6-yard pass from Cousins (Aborted kick; pass by Britton Colquitt failed) [9 plays, 63 yards, 4:43 time of possession]
