The Chicago Bears (7-3) avenged their Week 1 home loss against the Minnesota Vikings (4-6) with a 19-17 road win in Week 11.
The win, which puts the Bears in first place in the NFC North, is the Bears' third straight, with all three victories prevailing from the jaws of defeat. It took all three phases, and the entirety of 60 minutes, for the Bears to add their first divisional win of the season, and these three stats tell the story of how they got it done:
39
The Bears' win was a defensive struggle for both teams, but Ben Johnson and the offense controlled the game flow thanks to the unit's 39 rushing attempts.
Led by D'Andre Swift's 90 yards on 21 attempts, the Bears finished with 140 yards on the ground. Kyle Monangai's one-yard score -- the offense's only touchdown -- capped off a 15-play, 74-yard drive that featured five runs of at least five yards and took more than half of the second quarter off the board.
In total, the Bears' offense possessed the ball for shy of 37 minutes, and a big part of that comes from the success on the ground. The passing attack was unable to consistently complement the run game, finishing with 193 total yards, but much of that stems from what the Vikings did defensively.
Defensive coordinator Brian Flores blitzed Caleb Williams on 67% of his dropbacks, the second-highest single-game rate by any team this season. In the end, the passing attack had its moments, but the Bears won in large part because of their confidence in the run game, including calling three straight runs to set up the game-winning field goal.
+2
Both units had some ups and downs for the Bears, but they both continue to covet possession of the football, finishing Sunday with a +2 turnover differential.
With Williams and the offense committing no turnovers for the fifth time this season, and the third game in a row, the young quarterback continues to act like a veteran when it comes to avoiding big mistakes. Fellow second-year passer J.J. McCarthy was not so careful, and the Bears won in large part due to the defense's two interceptions.
Safety Kevin Byard lurked McCarthy over the middle, and cornerback Nahshon Wright made an acrobatic catch on an end zone lob to get the ball back for the offense. Wright's pick denied the Vikings a score, and the Bears' offense needed just five yards to set up a field goal after Byard's takeaway.
The two essentially accounted for at least a six-point swing, more than the difference in the game itself. The defense's 15 interceptions and 22 total turnovers are the most by any team this season, and the offense's six total giveaways are the second-fewest in the league. If the Bears look to continue their winning ways, both units will have to keep the ball in focus.
13
Success on special teams ended up being the difference on Sunday, and the Bears were able to lean heavily on kicker Cairo Santos, who finished with 13 total points.
No kick was bigger than Santos' 48-yard walk-off field goal, but he had an impactful day even before that, knocking in three of his four field goals and his lone PAT attempt prior. Santos is indeed the special teams MVP of the week -- and maybe the entire team -- but he was not the only one who helped the Bears win in the kicking game.
Following the Vikings' go-ahead touchdown with 50 seconds left, Devin Duvernay's 56-yard return set the Bears offense up at Minnesota's 40-yard line. With the field position, the Bears were able to inch into field goal range while draining the clock to set up Santos' aforementioned kick.
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The Bears have found a way to win close games this season, but as they look to gain traction in the playoff hunt with a tough schedule ahead, the special teams unit will have to continue to create and execute in clutch moments.