Minnesota Vikings crush Chicago Bears to move atop NFC | NFL

Aaron Jones and Cam Akers had second-half touchdown runs to complement a suffocating performance by the Minnesota defense, and the Vikings moved into a tie for first place in the NFC North on Monday night by beating the Chicago Bears 30-12 for their seventh. consistent victory.

Justin Jefferson had seven catches for 73 yards, including a Sam Darnold touchdown in the first quarter that was set up by Jonathan Greenard’s sack and forced a Caleb Williams fumble.

Williams managed to keep alive his NFL rookie record streak of 286 straight passes without an interception for the eighth straight game, but the Bears (4-10) have lost all of those. The first overall pick in the 2024 draft went 18-for-31 for 191 yards and threw a late touchdown pass to Keenan Allen after a blocked punt gave the Bears the ball at the Minnesota 27.

The Bears went 1 for 12 on third down and 1 for 3 on fourth down.

Darnold went 24 for 40 for 231 yards and threw his first interception in five games for the Vikings (12-2), who clinched a playoff spot with Seattle’s loss to Green Bay the night before. They have the division title on their radar after Detroit’s 11-game winning streak was stopped by Buffalo on Sunday.

Wearing white helmets for the first time in franchise history to top the snow-like jerseys and pants in their now-annual winter-themed home game — comfortably staged indoors — the Vikings had an energetic crowd behind them after former wide receivers Cris Carter and Jake Reed took a Randy Moss- jersey to midfield to flip a coin in honor of their former teammate who is undergoing treatment for cancer. Jefferson yelled, “We love you, Randy!” after his touchdown catch.

D’Andre Swift rushed 19 times for 79 yards for the Bears, who have been outscored 53-0 in the first half over the past three games. According to Sportradar, they are the first team with three consecutive scoreless first halves since Jacksonville in 2018.

The Bears have not only been because of the losing streak, but their 2-6 record in games decided by a touchdown or less. The firings last month of offensive coordinator Shane Waldron and later coach Matt Eberflus also led to a change in play-callers on both sides of the ball.

Once again, the Bears produced a handful of can’t-happen plays that ultimately doomed them. Swift was stuffed for no gain on a fourth-and-1 sweep from the Chicago 39 on the opening possession and again on a fourth-and-1 run at the Minnesota 29 in the second quarter.

In the third quarter, Swift had a short touchdown run that was negated by a penalty when backup center Doug Kramer failed to report as an eligible receiver when he entered the game as an extra blocker at the goal line.

Then rookie Kiran Amegadjie, who took three penalties in his first NFL start and was beaten badly by Greenard on the strip sack, was called for the team. The Bears settled for a short field goal.