The Chicago Bears and Minnesota Vikings once again battled down to the wire. It was practically a carbon copy of the first game in week one. Chicago, led by a strong defensive effort and an efficient if unremarkable Caleb Williams performance, built a double-digit lead. Again, J.J. McCarthy overcame a terrible first three quarters to score two unanswered touchdowns for the lead. Everybody thought it was over with just 50 seconds left.
This time, though, the Bears didn’t flinch. Devin Duvernay struck with a 53-yard kickoff return to put them in Minnesota territory. Then, a couple of runs on offense set up kicker Cairo Santos with a 48-yard field goal attempt. Here is where things get delicious.
We all know what happened next. Santos overcame a high snap to boot the ball just inside the left upright, sealing the Bears’ 19-17 victory. What nobody noticed at the time was that the Vikings apparently thought it wasn’t good. You can see their mascot signaling as such on the replay. They were so convinced of this that they began playing “Skol Vikings,” their victory song.
Oops.
The Chicago Bears got sweet revenge in several respects.
Firstly, they exorcized the demons of that loss on opening night, overcoming Minnesota’s late surge to claim the victory that rightfully belonged to them. They’d been the better team for six of the eight quarters the two teams played. This ending reflected that. Even better, it all but ruins the Vikings’ playoff hopes. The loss pushed them to 4-6. Given the current state of the NFC playoff picture, they would have to go 6-1 the rest of the way to have a realistic shot at the postseason. With how McCarthy is playing, that isn’t happening.
It seems so fitting that Minnesota blundered like that at the end of the game. They’d owned the Chicago Bears for the past several years thanks to their excellent coaching and roster superiority. They’d assumed both would carry the day once again. Celebrating a loss with your fight song is as delicious as you can possibly imagine.
