The Minnesota Vikings improved to 2-0 after defeating the Chicago Bears 9-3 on a rainy, soggy Sunday at Soldier Field. Despite the Vikings' defensive dominance, the game came down to the final play, when Dallas Turner sacked Chicago quarterback Tyson Bagent to secure the win.
There weren't many highlights from either offense, but Minnesota avoided catastrophe by not turning the ball over. Meanwhile, the Bears gave the ball away twice and had a field goal blocked in a game where there ball security was paramount.
It wasn't a great game for the Vikings, but it was the kind of win that had eluded them in recent memory. Not only is Minnesota the lone undefeated team in the NFC North, but both victories have come against division opponents.
DALLAS TURNER
WALKOFF SACK FOR THE VIKINGS pic.twitter.com/8wGRHUIMKW
— NFL (@NFL) September 20, 2026
Here is the good, the bad, and the ugly from the victory.
The Good: Brian Flores' defense
I'm tempted to single out Dallas Turner here, but other defensive standouts also performed on Sunday. Jalen Redmond was the defense's top-graded player on PFF, registering a 78.2 grade. PFF credited him with four pressures, four stops, and a batted pass. Redmond also punched the ball out from D'Andre Swift when the Bears were on the Vikings' 1-yard line.
Isaiah Rodgers recovered that fumble and made several plays. He ranked second on the defense with a 74.0 grade, allowing only one completion for seven yards on three targets, and almost intercepted a pass on the goal line with six seconds remaining in the game. Rodgers also blocked a 23-yard field goal with 6:21 remaining.
But Turner stole the show. Next Gen Stats credited him with 10 pressures for the second straight week. Turner finished with two sacks, although he may have had four or five sacks on a normal day. But Caleb Williams' escapability kept several plays alive, and the Vikings held the Bears in check, surrendering only 297 yards.
The Bad: The offense, kind of
I have long said I don't care about Minnesota's record or how good or bad Chicago is. Soldier Field is a tough place to play, and even though the Vikings entered Sunday on a six-game win streak at the stadium, each victory contained its own unique ugliness. Escape with a win; save the style points for another day.
This held true with Minnesota's offense. There weren't many highlight plays, and no one stuffed the stat sheet. Aaron Jones may have been the most prolific offensive player on the Vikings, running 23 times for 105 yards.
But Minnesota didn't turn the ball over and give the Bears any short fields. Carson Wentz went 11/20 for 143 yards and took three sacks. He avoided disaster, though, taking care of the ball after nearly throwing an interception on the opening drive. The Vikings only mustered 246 total yards, but 67 of them came on an 11-play drive that spanned 5:12 and ended with a field goal to give them a 9-3 lead with 1:09 to play.
The Ugly: The rain
This may be too modest of me, but the weather was such an equalizer for both offenses that it's tough to be overly critical of an offense that didn't turn the ball over on a gray, rainy day.
Justin Jefferson may have caught a touchdown pass on a normal day on the offense's first drive of the game, but the rain helped the ball slip out of his outstretched hands. And that was only possible after Chicago linebacker Devin Bush dropped a potential interception a few plays earlier.
Blake Brandel fired an off-target shotgun snap to Wentz in the first quarter, immediately ruining a third-down play. The poor field made it even harder for Minnesota defenders to keep up with Williams. But they got the win, even though there was a real possibility the Vikings could have lost this game, and they pointed to every excuse in the book because of the inclement weather.
This article originally appeared on Vikings Wire: The Good, the bad, and the ugly from the Vikings' Week 2 win
