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Vikings’ Ten Mediocre Takeaways From Week 18 vs. Chicago Bears

Recap

The good news is that the Vikings came out on top against the Chicago Bears for their Week 18 matchup. Another positive that came out of this game was a decent amount of playing time for Nick Mullens.  

With the score 16 – 6 at halftime in favor of the Vikings, coach O’Connell pulled Kirk Cousins for the second half. Mullens led the team to a touchdown on his first drive and managed to get them in position for a couple of field goals as well. 

This game was never very close and the Bears’ offense looked pretty impotent with Nathan Peterman and Tim Boyle running things from the quarterback position as Justin Fields sat out with an injury.

They struggled to find production in the run or pass game as Khalil Herbert finished the game with 10 carries for 50 yards to lead their rushers, and Cole Kmet had four catches for 57 yards and one TD to lead their receivers. 

The Vikings had struggled with slow starts throughout the season but that was not the case in this one. It only took them four plays to get their first down, one of them being a 66-yard completion to K.J. Osborn. 

Greg Joseph continued his confusing struggles with extra points as he missed the PAT after the first possession.

The Vikings’ offense was led by Alexander Mattison who had a career-high two TDs on the day. This game was not competitive from the get-go and the 29-13 final score is evidence of that.

Ten Takeaways

Here are Ten Takeaways from a mediocre performance that helped the Vikings finish the season with a win and a 13-4 record. 

1. Kirk Cousins Returned To His Reliable Self

Kirk had an awful performance against the Packers in Week 17 by going 18 of 31 for 205 yards, one TD, and three INTS.

He came back to his senses this week with a redeeming stat line of 17 for 20, 225 yards, one TD, and zero INTS. All of this coming in the first half.

2. K.J. Osborn WR #2?

K.J. Osborn had another great week with five catches for 117 yards. His biggest reception, a 66-yarder,  got the offense started on the very first Vikings drive.

He has continued to impress while Adam Thielen’s play continues to regress.

3. Productive Day For Mattison 

Alexander Mattison had a very productive performance as he finished with 10 carries for 54 yards and two TDs. 

His longest run was only for 11 yards but he continued to find the endzone throughout the game.

4. Another Disappointing Day For Dalvin

Dalvin continues to feast or famine this year as he finished with 11 carries for only 37 yards against a below-average Bears run Defense. He added to that production with one catch for a total of zero yards. 

5. Second And Third Most Productive Receivers?

Surprisingly the second and third most productive receivers for the Vikings were Jalen Nailor and C.J. Ham. 

They both had four catches but Nailor had 62 yards and Ham had 47 yards. Justin Jefferson had four catches for 38 yards and zero TDs while Adam Thielen had two catches for eight yards and one TD.

6. Josh Metellus Aka Harrison Smith’s Heir Apparent?

Josh Metellus continues to play well in relief of Harrison Smith. He finished the game with two tackles and three passes defended.

7. Greg Joseph’s PAT Struggles Continue

Greg Joseph has had a lot of great games but continues to struggle to make extra points as he missed another one in the game against the Bears. This brings his season total of misses to six on the 44 extra points he has attempted.

8. Nick Mullens Is Not Terrible

After a few seasons of watching Kellen Mond and Sean Mannion back up Kirk, it is a pleasant surprise to watch Nick Mullens lead this offense. He is a competent passer who can run when it is called for as well.

He was not overly impressive in this game but he finished with 11 completions on his 13 throws for 116 yards, zero TDs, and one INT.

9. Time Of Possession

The Vikings dominated time of possession in the game with over 36 minutes. They also had 482 yards of total offense, which is especially impressive considering a good chunk of the offensive starters were pulled for the second half.

10. Third Down Conversions

The Vikings finished the game six of 11 on their third downs while the Bears only converted two of their nine third down opportunities. The Vikings’ defense looked better at certain points but was still not as dominant as it should have been against a very weak Bears offensive unit.

Wrap Up

The Vikings did not look as dominant as they could have against a weak Bears team but in the NFL, you take all the wins you can get.

They wrapped up the season with a win and have some momentum they can carry into the playoffs. With the possibility of Blake Brandel and Garrett Bradbury returning to the offensive line, things are looking up after the losses of Brian O’Neill and Austin Schlottmann.

Brandel is nowhere near the player that O’Neill is but he is still considerably better than Oli Udoh. Bradbury took his game to another level before his back injury that has kept him out of the last few games.

Both of them would be welcome additions to an offensive line that has struggled with O’Neill and Bradbury’s absences.

If the Vikings can establish the run game and get a couple of successful screens early on, that should slow down the pass rushers enough to allow the pass plays to develop.

As long as the Smiths – Harrison and Za’Darius – return to their earlier season form, this defense will be much improved. It has also looked considerably better since Donatell has been blitzing more often. 

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