Bears 19, Vikings 17: Three observations in Chicago’s NFL Week 11 win

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MINNEAPOLIS — The Bears’ quest for double-digit wins this season was well underway entering Sunday’s game against the Minnesota Vikings. They had to finish with a .500 record over their final eight games to get there — a plateau that likely would end in an NFL playoff berth.

Chicago’s schedule becomes decidedly harder down the stretch, placing this Week 11 road contest against NFC North rival Minnesota and often-shaky quarterback J.J. McCarthy as one the Bears needed to secure.

In no way was this a must-win scenario, but it was a sure-would-be-nice situation for the Bears at U.S. Bank Stadium.

The Bears ultimately emerged from this pivotal contest with a 19-17 win, pushing their record to 7-3 and keeping them very much in the NFC playoff picture.

Here’s what we learned from the result:

Finding a way to win

The Bears weren’t efficient on offense. Ben Johnson didn’t have his best play-calling day. They continually trekked into Vikings territory, only to have drives stalled and settle for field goals.

But the defense kept the Bears ahead down the stretch. So did McCarthy, who played losing football for most of the day and missed one wide-open target after another. The Bears were given golden opportunities to close out game in the second half and didn’t capitalize on them. That left the result in the balance, making the final moments decisive when they shouldn’t have been.

The offense couldn’t act as a closer. The Bears put all their weight on the defense, which had been so good for most of the day.

That wasn’t a good strategy. The Vikings’ offense found life for the first time as time wound down, and McCarthy found Jordan Addison wide open for a 15-yard touchdown pass with 50 seconds left to give Minnesota a 17-16 lead.

Just when all seemed lost, though, Devin Duvernay came through with a 56-yard kickoff return to pull the Bears within striking distance at the Vikings’ 40.

That set up Cairo Santos, who had missed a 45-yard field-goal attempt earlier in the fourth quarter, to walk off the Vikings (4-6) with a successful kick. The veteran kicker stuck a 48-yarder to win the game as time expired.

Williams truly is Houdini

Johnson jokingly called Bears quarterback Caleb Williams “Houdini” after last week’s win over the New York Giants, after he evaded one sack attempt after another and ran wild against an excellent defensive front.

Williams looked like a magician again against the Vikings, finding ways to evade pressure and make positive gains. His ability to do so is uncanny, and that has become a real weapon for the Bears’ offense.

Let us submit this one to the Academy:

Williams salvaged a third-quarter field-goal drive with a few big runs, finding open space and taking advantage of the fact the Vikings rarely spied on him. While not every evaded pressure resulted in a big play, Williams kept the Bears out of major negative plays that could be drive killers.

This wasn’t Williams’ best statistical day, as he completed 16 of 32 passes for just 193 yards and ran for 26 more, but he kept the chains moving and understood the assignment to avoid major gaffes that could turn the tide. The Vikings got to Williams a few times late in the game, but he generated a net positive in a game without much scoring efficiency.

Back on the takeaway grind

No NFL defense takes the ball away more than the Bears. They’ve been on a tear since Week 3, with multiple takeaways in six games to this point — a whopper of a number that has been a main reason for success in the first half of the season.

The Bears are aggressive in making plays on the ball. They also bait quarterbacks into bad throws.

The secondary took advantage of McCarthy in that regard, with two interceptions in the first half. Kevin Byard III snagged the first, which led to a second-quarter Bears field goal. It was Byard’s fifth pick this season, which led the NFL through Sunday’s early games.

Just minutes later, Nahshon Wright made an excellent play on a McCarthy pass in the end zone for his fourth interception this season.

The 6-foot-4 cornerback has been an excellent fill-in for the injured Jaylon Johnson, with two interceptions this season against a Vikings team that cut him during the spring.

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