Bears tighten grip on the North
CHICAGO — No doubt about it now, the Bears really are serious about winning the NFC North. Khalil Mack had a sack and fumble recovery, Eddie Jackson returned an interception for a touchdown, and Chicago tightened its grip on the division with a 25-20 victory over the second-place Minnesota Vikings on Sunday night.
Mack and Jackson led a dominant effort by the defense. And Chicago (7-3) took a big step toward its first division championship since 2010. The Bears won their fourth in a row, their longest streak since a six-game run in 2012. Chicago finished 10-6 that year, missed the playoffs and fired coach Lovie Smith after that season.
“We’re excited,” quarterback Mitchell Trubisky said. “We’ve just got to keep it rolling. We’ve got to continue to stay hungry, stay humble and just continue to believe in one another. Stay hungry, stay humble, come ready to work.”
Chicago dominated Minnesota on Sunday, taking out the defending division champions after beating three struggling teams — the New York Jets, Buffalo Bills and Detroit Lions. The Bears also have victories the last two weeks over NFC North opponents after dropping 10 in a row against division foes.
“This isn’t about proving, I don’t think for us, as much as it is about our guys just learning that they can trust one another,” coach Matt Nagy said. “When you stick together through the highs and the lows and you work as hard as our guys do together and you listen to the coaches and the coaches listen to the players — there’s a collaboration — you then get a chance to be in a situation like this tonight, to play in front of the whole world.”
The Bears were leading by eight midway through the fourth quarter when Jackson picked off a pass from Kirk Cousins. His 27yard touchdown return and a two-point conversion pass from Trubisky to Adam Shaheen made the score 22-6. Cousins then threw a 13-yard touchdown to Aldrick Robinson and a two-point conversion to Adam Thielen, making the score 22-14. But Cody Parkey kicked a 48-yard field goal with 2:48 left, and the Bears hung on from there.