“The defense did a really good job until the very end,” Johnson said. “That fourth quarter, things got away from us a little bit. But up until then they kept us in that ballgame.”
The defense played without linebacker T.J. Edwards (hamstring), cornerback Jaylon Johnson (calf, groin) and nickel back Kyler Gordon (hamstring).
The Bears had a chance to pad their lead, but Santos missed a 50-yard field goal attempt wide right on the first play of the fourth quarter.
The Vikings followed by cutting the deficit to 17-12 on McCarthy’s 13-yard TD pass to Jefferson. Minnesota was 0-of-8 on third down before scoring its first TD of the game on third-and-5.
On the subsequent two-point conversion attempt, tight end Josh Oliver caught a pass from McCarthy in the left flat, but safety Jonathan Owens made an excellent open field tackle short of the goal line.
The Vikings took their first lead at 20-17 with 9:46 to play on McCarthy’s 27-yard TD pass to running back Aaron Jones and a two-point conversion pass to receiver Adam Thielen.
McCarthy’s 14-yard TD run made it 27-17 with 2:53 to play before Williams’ TD pass to Odunze completed the scoring.
“The guys did play hard,” Johnson said. “They played with great intensity, great effort, and I hate to see that they didn’t come with a ‘W’ there at the end.”