The TD capped a 15-play, 74-yard drive. The Bears were 3-of-3 on third down, with all three conversions coming on runs of 4 yards by DJ Moore on third-and-4, 2 yards by Williams on third-and-1 and 6 yards by Monangai on third-and-4.
Santos booted field goals on each of the Bears’ first two possessions of the second half, extending their lead to 13-3 with a 54-yarder early in the third quarter and to 16-3 with a 38-yarder with 2:11 remaining in the period.
The second drive was sustained by Williams’ 16-yard strike to Luther Burden III on third-and-13 from the Bears’ 17. It came one play after Williams’ 11-yard scramble on third-and-8 was nullified by an illegal formation penalty.
The Vikings cut the deficit to 16-10 on running back Jordan Mason’s 16-yard TD run early in the fourth quarter. Minnesota’s first TD of the game came two plays after Myles Price’s 42-yard punt return to the Chicago 24.
That only set the stage for another fantastic finish, which featured two lead changes in the game’s final minute—just par for the course for the Bears this season.
“They just understand that we are really talented, and so it’s just a matter of time before someone’s going to make a big play for us,” Johnson said. “We’ve got playmakers on offense, defense and special teams, and someone’s going to show up and end up giving us a spark that we need.”
The Bears have now rallied late for comeback wins in three of their last four road games, recording victories over the Commanders, Bengals and Vikings.
“It doesn’t matter when, it doesn’t matter how, it doesn’t matter who, we’ve got the guys, we’ve got the coaches,” Williams said. “We live in the known and so when our moment comes, when their moment comes, whoever it is, we’ll make the play. We’ve got to be better throughout the game, but when it comes down to it, we know we’re going to make the plays at the right moment, the right time and we’re going to win the game.”
Sunday’s Bears-Vikings matchup was similar to the season opener between the teams at Soldier Field. The Bears entered the fourth quarter of that Monday night contest leading 17-6 before Minnesota rallied for a 27-24 victory.
“It was very reminiscent there of the first game where we ended up having a lead and allowed it to get interesting there,” Johnson said. “We felt like we didn’t make enough plays there in the first game to earn that victory—and this one we did. I do think that shows growth as a football team.”
“I think the belief that we’ve grown within the locker room is what changed,” Williams said. “That’s been the biggest thing throughout the season so far is the belief, and when you have belief, when you have trust between each other, these moments don’t seem too big. These moments are a lot smaller. Everybody’s a lot more focused. Everybody’s a lot more poised when something goes wrong.”
