MINNEAPOLIS – Another week, another incredible, scintillating, nearly indescribable comeback victory for the Bears.
On Sunday in Minnesota, Cairo Santos' 48-yard field goal as time expired lifted the cardiac Bears to a dramatic 19-17 win over the Vikings at U.S. Bank Stadium.
The Bears led 16-3 entering the fourth quarter, but Minnesota rallied for two touchdowns, the second coming on J.J. McCarthy's 15-yard pass to Jordan Addison, giving the Vikings a 17-16 lead with :50 to play.
But as they've done all season, the Bears overcame a late deficit. Devin Duvernay returned the ensuing kickoff 56 yards to the Minnesota 40. After D'Andre Swift gained nine yards on three rushes, coach Ben Johnson called timeout with :04 left.
In came Santos, who drilled the game-winner, enabling the Bears to improve to 7-3 with their third straight victory and seventh in the last eight games. Five of their wins this season have come via late fourth-quarter rallies.
"As ugly as it can be at times, I mean, this group's just proven time and time again that when it's close there in the fourth quarter that we're capable of finding a way," Johnson said. "Really proud of the guys for how they fought there at the end."
The key play Sunday was Duvernay's return, his longest of the season.
"We absolutely needed that," Johnson said. "Kind have been waiting for one of those from him, to be honest with you. He's come really close a number of times. He was able to capture it on the bounce there and got us right there on the [cusp] of field goal range. We were just a little bit out of it, and we were able to run it just enough to feel good about our kick from there."
It was Santos' fourth field goal of the game. His only miss came on a 45-yard try that would have given the Bears a 19-10 lead midway through the fourth quarter.
Caleb Williams completed 16 of 32 passes for 193 yards and a 68.9 passer rating and rushed for 26 yards on four carries. Swift ran for 90 yards on 21 attempts, including 47 yards on nine attempts in the fourth quarter.
The defense generated two takeaways, both on interceptions of McCarthy late in the first half. Safety Kevin Byard picked off a pass over the middle and returned it 23 yards to the Vikings' 25. It was Byard's NFL-leading fifth pick of the season. Santos followed with a 38-yard field goal that extended the Bears' lead to 10-3.
The Vikings then advanced to the Chicago 30. But cornerback Nahshon Wright made a fantastic leaping interception in the end zone of a pass intended for Addison with :35 left in the half.
After spending last season on Minnesota's practice squad, Wright was released by the Vikings April 7 and signed with the Bears the next day. He now has two interceptions against his former team this year, returning the first one 74 yards for a TD in the season opener at Soldier Field.
The Bears fell behind 3-0 Sunday on Will Reichard's 31-yard field goal late in the first quarter. But they responded with 16 unanswered points, taking their first lead at 7-3 on Kyle Monangai's 1-yard touchdown run with 4:55 left in the second quarter.
The TD capped a 15-play, 74-yard drive. The Bears were 3-of-3 on third down, with all three conversions coming on runs of 4 yards by DJ Moore on third-and-4, 2 yards by Williams on third-and-1 and 6 yards by Monangai on third-and-4.
Santos booted field goals on each of the Bears' first two possessions of the second half, extending their lead to 13-3 with a 54-yarder early in the third quarter and to 16-3 with a 38-yarder with 2:11 remaining in the period.
The second drive was sustained by Williams' 16-yard strike to Luther Burden III on third-and-13 from the Bears' 17. It came one play after Williams' 11-yard scramble on third-and-8 was nullified by an illegal formation penalty.
The Vikings cut the deficit to 16-10 on running back Jordan Mason's 16-yard TD run early in the fourth quarter. Minnesota's first TD of the game came two plays after Myles Price's 42-yard punt return to the Chicago 24.
That only set the stage for another fantastic finish, which featured two lead changes in the game's final minute—just par for the course for the Bears this season.
"They just understand that we are really talented, and so it's just a matter of time before someone's going to make a big play for us," Johnson said. "We've got playmakers on offense, defense and special teams, and someone's going to show up and end up giving us a spark that we need."
The Bears have now rallied late for comeback wins in three of their last four road games, recording victories over the Commanders, Bengals and Vikings.
"It doesn't matter when, it doesn't matter how, it doesn't matter who, we've got the guys, we've got the coaches," Williams said. "We live in the known and so when our moment comes, when their moment comes, whoever it is, we'll make the play. We've got to be better throughout the game, but when it comes down to it, we know we're going to make the plays at the right moment, the right time and we're going to win the game."
Sunday's Bears-Vikings matchup was similar to the season opener between the teams at Soldier Field. The Bears entered the fourth quarter of that Monday night contest leading 17-6 before Minnesota rallied for a 27-24 victory.
"It was very reminiscent there of the first game where we ended up having a lead and allowed it to get interesting there," Johnson said. "We felt like we didn't make enough plays there in the first game to earn that victory—and this one we did. I do think that shows growth as a football team."
"I think the belief that we've grown within the locker room is what changed," Williams said. "That's been the biggest thing throughout the season so far is the belief, and when you have belief, when you have trust between each other, these moments don't seem too big. These moments are a lot smaller. Everybody's a lot more focused. Everybody's a lot more poised when something goes wrong."
