The Minnesota Vikings continue to steamroll their competition, putting on a clinic against the Chicago Bears with a decisive 30-12 victory under the bright lights of Monday night football. With this win, the Vikings sit pretty at 12-2, firmly in control of their path to either clinch the NFC’s top seed or at least the division crown. Their path has been aided by the Buffalo Bills’ recent takedown of the top-seeded Detroit Lions, clearing the way for Minnesota to rewrite its own destiny after a brief detour in the season’s earlier months.

The Vikings’ defense was the unsung hero of the night, methodically dismantling every offensive attempt by the Bears. Chicago didn’t do themselves any favors either, particularly when a potential touchdown — their only one outside garbage time — was recalled due to an ineligible man downfield. It was comedic mishaps like these that pushed them back to settle for a field goal, though scoring even three points seemed a Herculean effort for the Bears throughout the game.

But let’s dig into some numbers that illustrate just how commanding Minnesota was over the 4-10 Bears.

First and foremost, the Vikings have managed at least one takeaway in every game this season — a testament to their defensive prowess. Right from the first drive, Minnesota stopped Chicago cold on a fourth-and-one within Chicago territory, setting the stage for the offense to draw first blood with a field goal.

The Bears showed brief sparks of life on their second drive. However, Jonathan Greenard swooped in from the edge and dislodged the ball from Caleb Williams’ grasp, with Blake Cashman opportunistically recovering the fumble and marching it into Chicago’s half.

From there, it was an easy finish for the offense with Sam Darnold connecting with Justin Jefferson in the end zone, pushing the score to a comfortable 10-0. This kind of defensive intensity has been crucial, making Minnesota an even tougher opponent as it keeps feeding its offense opportunities to shine.

On offense, Sam Darnold and his squad converted three third downs of 10 yards or more, showing resilience where they previously faltered. Earlier this season, they were known to stumble at the hint of adversity — procedural penalties would often result in drives going dead in the water.

But this week told a different story. On one significant third-and-17 play, Kevin O’Connell called a clever play reminiscent of earlier successes against the Bears, where Darnold fired a pass to Aaron Jones underneath coverage, allowing Jones to weave through open space and move the chains.

On that same drive, Darnold found Brandon Powell on a third-and-10 for a 12-yard gain, slipping through Chicago’s zone defense like a feather in a breeze. And perhaps most remarkably, Darnold hit T.J.

Hockenson on a short pass on third-and-15, and Hockenson bulldozed forward for 16 yards and a first down. The offensive line might not have been at its finest here, but Darnold remained poised, navigating the pocket and capitalizing on whatever the defense relinquished, while his teammates muscled through for the extra yards.

Let’s shift our focus to Caleb Williams of the Bears, who spent the night floundering against the Minnesota defense in the passing game. His first-half stats were telling: seven of nine completions for just 60 yards with an average depth of target of a stark 0.1 yards.

Chicago’s air attack appeared thoroughly out of sync, with Williams struggling to find open receivers and holding on to the ball for eternity. He did manage to complete a 26-yard pass to Keenan Allen early in the third quarter—the first notable completion over five yards—but these moments were far too scarce.

Meanwhile, Justin Jefferson carved out some personal history that night, capitalizing on the extraordinary four yards of separation for his touchdown grab — the widest gap he’s managed in his end-zone career. Jefferson made headlines not just for his performance but for his heartfelt tribute to Randy Moss, who bravely announced his cancer battle.

Jefferson rounded off the night with 73 yards on seven catches and a touchdown but also suffered an uncharacteristic lapse with a dropped would-be touchdown. Yet, the touching nod to Moss will undoubtedly linger in memory well beyond this game.

And here’s an interesting tidbit from Minnesota’s defensive archives; it’s been 2,556 days since they held an opponent scoreless and devoid of a third-down conversion in the first half. That kind of dominance harkens back to December 17, 2017, when a certain Andy Dalton and his Bengals were thoroughly outmatched.

The Bears stumbled through multiple winnable situations, going zero for two on fourth-and-one attempts in the opening half alone. It’s safe to say Brian Flores has his defense firing on all cylinders, as Chicago’s offense limped to a weak two of 16 on third and fourth down — and one of those was during garbage time when the Vikings had already started resting their defensive stars.