Category: 2022 Week 18 @ Chicago

Vikings vs. Bears: 5 backups who stood out in Sunday’s win

The second team got some extended play on Sunday. Here are five of them who stood out.

Prior to Sunday’s game versus the Chicago Bears, there was an expectation that the Minnesota Vikings would pull their starters during the game and the Vikings did just that after halftime. Kirk Cousins hit wide receiver K.J. Osborn for a 66-yard connection on the teams’ opening drive and then followed that up with a touchdown to wide receiver Adam Thielen.

After going up 16-6 at the end of the first half, head coach Kevin O’Connell pulled his starters as the second half commenced. The decision allowed O’Connell to ensure his starters would stay healthy with the playoffs right around the corner, but it also allowed for the Vikings coaching staff to get a look at the backups.

Here’s a look at some of the backups who played today and how they fared.

Vikings vs. Bears: Studs and Duds from Week 18 win

The Vikings played really well in the regular season finale

The Minnesota Vikings did what they had only done once this season: win a game by more than one score. In Week one, the Vikings beat the Green Bay Packers by 16 and did the exact same against the Chicago Bears with a 29-13 win at Soldier Field.

The game itself was a great opportunity for the Vikings to give some of their younger players valuable snaps heading into the playoffs, especially offensive linemen Vederian Lowe and Kyle Hinton on the offensive line.

In the game, there were quite a few standout performances and only a couple of poor ones. Here is the final regular season edition of studs and duds.

Vikings beat Bears easily for second double-digit win

The Vikings finish off the regular season with a double-digit win over the Bears

The Minnesota Vikings win 13 games in a season for the first time since 2017 with a 29-13 win over the Chicago Bears. The win was the second by double digits the Vikings had on the season.

They started things off with a bang, as quarterback Kirk Cousins found wide receiver K.J. Osborn for a 66-yard catch that set up a four-yard touchdown to wide receiver Adam Thielen. Right afterward, kicker Greg Joseph missed the extra point, his only miss of the day as he connected with his other two extra points and all four field goals, but one didn’t count.

Clock management continues to plague the Vikings, as a litany of issues led to Joseph’s field goal not counting. Head coach Kevin O’Connell continues to have issues managing the clock and it is becoming a growing cause for concern.

They did pull the starters coming out of halftime, and Alexander Mattison got some extended playing time and he took advantage of it. Mattison scored two touchdowns on the ground, including 54 yards on 10 rushes. He was running with great vision and an extra level of aggressiveness about him that helped him dominate the Bears defense.

One thing that was good for the Vikings is they didn’t punt until there was less than a minute to go in the game. They did turn it over twice and had the end of half fiasco, but not punting it was objectively great to see.

Duke Shelley was great in his return to Soldier Field. He was draped all over the guy he was defending while getting two pass breakups and an interception to help seal the game in the fourth quarter. He led a defense that only allowed 259 yards on the day

Next up for the Vikings is the wild card round. They will either be the three seed and host the New York Giants or the number two seed with a loss by the San Francisco 49ers and face one of the Green Bay Packers, Seattle Seahawks or Detroit Lions.

Twitter goes berserk after Vikings run scramble drill for field goal that doesn’t count

Another example of poor clock management by the Vikings leads to a brutal end of the half for Minnesota

What a wild end to the first half for the Minnesota Vikings and Chicago Bears.

The Vikings were driving at the end of the half to score some points and things went awry as they couldn’t get a successful field goal attempt off before the clock expired as they go into halftime with a 10 point lead at 16-6.

The end was honestly disappointing. They had to burn their last timeout when Justin Jefferson didn’t get out of bounds. They didn’t have one extra to burn because the officials forgot to reset the play clock after Alexander Mattison failed to get into the end zone.

Right after on third down, Cousins checked down to Dalvin Cook who was tackled in bounds with about 15 seconds left. The team ran a scramble drill but couldn’t get everyone off of the field, so the kick didn’t count, taking three points off the board for the Vikings.

Overall, a really disappointing end to the first half for the Vikings, as they should have a 13-point lead and not a 10-point one. Head coach Kevin O’Connell continues to have struggles with clock management. Needless to say, social media ripped the Vikings a new one for that atrocious display.

Vikings Adam Thielen makes history in Week 18 vs. Bears

Minnesota Vikings wide receiver made history with his touchdown reception vs. Bears

Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Adam Thielen made history Sunday versus the Chicago Bears when he hauled in a four-yard touchdown pass from Kirk Cousins early in the first quarter to put the Vikings up 6-0. The touchdown reception was Thielen’s 55th in his career. He has now tied former Washington player Hugh Taylor for the third-most receiving touchdowns by an undrafted player in NFL history.

Cousins hit wide receiver KJ Osborn for a 66-yard connection, which set the Vikings up with first and goal from the four-yard line. The Vikings then ran a play-action pass and hit Thielen wide-open in the end zone for the touchdown.

Thielen has had a quiet year this season as most of the offense has been funneled through star wide receiver Justin Jefferson. Though he has shown that he’s still able to get open and that he’s still an offensive threat for the Vikings, which will be crucial for this team in the Playoffs.

Justin Jefferson breaks another NFL record

Another record for the superstar wide receiver

Another game, another record set by Minnesota Vikings star wide receiver Justin Jefferson. This time, it was for receptions in the first three years of his career.

With a 23 yard reception in the first quarter, Jefferson passed New Orleans Saints wide receiver Michael Thomas with his 322nd reception in the first three seasons of a  NFL career.

Jefferson is something truly special. It isn’t that he is catching a lot of slant routes or screen passes. Jefferson is doing it on all three levels of the field with ease.

Throughout the season, Jefferson has the NFL record for most receiving yards in the first three years of a career and set the team record for most receptions and yards in the first three seasons of a career along with single-season records for both receptions and yards.

There isn’t anyone in the NFL like Jefferson and the Vikings continue their lineage of great wide receivers to play for the organization.

WATCH Adam Thielen score the first touchdown of Week 18 vs. Bears

Thielen continues to dominate in the red zone

Throughout the season, there have been a lot of questions about the future of wide receiver Adam Thielen. He hasn’t been very productive along with having lingering injuries in his lower half.

Despite all of that, Thielen has still been a net positive for the Vikings. One place where he is great is in the red zone.

After a four-play, 73-yard drive, Thielen capped it off by catching a four-yard touchdown to put the Vikings up 6-0. Greg Joseph missed his sixth extra point of the season.

The play is one that the Vikings have run in multiple ways this season. Thielen sells the block before he leaks out for a wide open pitch and catch.

The touchdown was Thielen’s sixth of the season and 55th of his career. It also tied Hugh Taylor for third in league history in terms of undrafted players. He continues to be great in the red zone and will continue being so as he moves forward.

WATCH Kirk Cousins and KJ Osborn connect for 66-yard bomb

Vikings start week 18 off vs. the Bears with a huge connection from Kirk Cousins to KJ Osborn

Following a mediocre offensive performance against the Green Bay Packers last week, the Minnesota Vikings wasted no time in opening Week 18 against the Chicago Bears.

On an early third-down play, Kirk Cousins and KJ Osborn connected on a 66-yard bomb, which was the Vikings’ longest pass of the season and Osborn’s longest reception of his career.

The Vikings ran a levels concept out of a bunch formation. Justin Jefferson ran a whip route underneath, T.J. Hockenson ran an out route and Osborn, who was at the top of the bunch, ran a deep corner route.

This is an easy pitch and catch for Cousins. If the protection was better, he would have been able to lead Osborn easier for what would have been a touchdown.

This is a great way to start for the Vikings in a game where they needed to get some momentum on offense.

Vikings have multiple starters inactive in Week 18 vs. Bears

The Vikings are treating this game similar to a preseason game

The Minnesota Vikings only have a small amount to play for and that hinges on a San Francisco 49ers loss to the Arizona Cardinals. With the Chicago Bears not playing quarterback Justin Fields, the Vikings have “in theory” an easy matchup.

With that in mind, they aren’t taking any chances and that is reflected in who the Vikings have named as their inactives.

Initially, the Vikings had announced that outside linebacker Za’Darius Smith would be traveling separately from the team due to a personal issue.

Safety Harrison Smith was ruled out on Saturday after he experienced some knee soreness after practice on Friday.

The rest of the list isn’t much of a suprise.

    • Cornerback Cameron Dantzler is still dealing with his ankle after suffering a high ankle sprain against the Washington Commanders.
    • After being injured, defensive end Ross Blacklock is healthy but the Vikings continue to make him inactive.
    • Both center Garrett Bradbury and defensive end James Lynch continue to be out with their respective injuries.
    • Linebacker Brian Asamoah likely would play in a normal week, but will miss Sunday’s game since it has little consequences.

NFL Week 18 TV Broadcast Maps

With the schedule on week 18, each market will receiver four local broadcasts. See what your market will have on Sunday

We have finally reached the end of the regular season and it’s primed to be a big finale.

Saturday will have two games with the Kansas City Chiefs taking on the Las Vegas Raiders at 3:30 central time and the Tennessee Titans taking on the Jacksonville Jaguars at 7:15 central time for the AFC South title.

Each market will get four games this week due to it being the last week of the season and playoff positioning is in full force. See what games your market will be getting per 506 Sports.