Five notes from Chicago Bears statement win vs. Vikings

The Chicago Bears beat the Minnesota Vikings in a statement game. Here are the five biggest storylines from the win

The Chicago Bears win over the Minnesota Vikings is easily the biggest of the past five years. The Bears took a commanding lead in the division and added a tiebreaker over their greatest threat. This is a team bound to make a run into the playoffs.

With such a great win in a primetime spot with major implications, there is so much to take away. Here are five key notes to keep in mind from the game.

Third down offense

The Minnesota Vikings came into the game as the top third-down defenses in the NFL. The Chicago Bears were a top ten third down offense, though and would provide a real test. This season the Bears are converting 42% of their third downs. The Vikings were allowing just 26% to be converted. That is impressive.

To win this game, it was going to take the Chicago Bears to break the Vikings strong trend of third-down defense. The Chicago Bears did just that, converting six third downs, 50% of them to win the game.

Head coach Matt Nagy mentioned first down success leading to third down success. He thought his team did an excellent job of staying ahead of the sticks on first down to move the sticks in easier to navigate spots. The play calling was superb, and the situational football was smart. The Chicago Bears won this game by being the better team on third down.