Vikings pull out rare win in Chicago; Beat Bears 23-20

Published 8:53 am Monday, November 2, 2015

CHICAGO— Soldier Field had been a house of horrors for Minnesota. Not these Vikings, though.

Minnesota got a long-awaited Windy City win — and with no time to spare.

Adrian Peterson ran for 103 yards and Blair Walsh kicked a 36-yard field goal as time expired to lift the Vikings to a 23-20 win over the Chicago Bears on Sunday.

Email newsletter signup

“Just another thing to mark in our checkbook,” Vikings coach and Chicago-area product Mike Zimmer said. “Can’t win in Chicago. Can’t win on the road. Can’t win two division games in a row. Can’t win in a temporary stadium. Keep coming up with them.”

The Vikings snapped a seven-game losing streak in Chicago after ending a long road skid against division opponents last week at Detroit. Now, they have wins in consecutive games against the NFC North.

It looked like the Vikings were on their way to another loss in Chicago when Jay Cutler rolled to his right and plowed over safety Harrison Smith for a 4-yard touchdown with just under five minutes remaining.

That gave the Bears a 20-13 lead. But Bridgewater dug in, leading two late scoring drives to send Minnesota (5-2) to its third straight win.

Stefon Diggs turned a short pass into a 40-yard TD when he spun around Sherrick McManis and went up the left side, tying it with 1:49 left.

After Chicago (2-5) punted, Bridgewater hit a leaping Charles Johnson for a 35-yard pass that put the ball on the 27. Two plays later Walsh booted the winner, pumping his right arm as the ball went through the uprights.

The Vikings pulled out a win at Soldier Field for the first time since Peterson ran for 224 yards against the Bears as a rookie in 2007.

Coming off one of the best games of his young career, Bridgewater threw for just 187 yards and a touchdown. That actually wasn’t bad, considering he had 41 yards and an interception in the first half. But he shook off a rough start and came up big in the closing minutes.