The Vikings needed to beat the Bears or have the Eagles lose to the Redskins to reach the playoffs, and they got neither.
Philadelphia cruised to a 24-0 road victory over the Redskins and the Vikings laid an egg against the Bears, falling 24-10 in a season-ending loss to the NFC North champions.
The game was frustrating for fans and players, with Pro Bowl wide receiver Adam Thielen and quarterback Kirk Cousins appearing to shout at each other after a miscommunication late in the first half.
“I don’t have 10 seconds.” Oy. pic.twitter.com/jkCptuNO35
— Zack Pierce (@ZPathletic) December 30, 2018
The moment on camera was the result of Chicago completely dominating Minnesota’s offense, holding the Vikings to just 27 yards before Minnesota’s final drive of the first half went 37 yards and ended with a 45-yard field goal by Dan Bailey to cut the Bears’ lead to 13-3.
Cousins, who is now 4-25 in his career against teams with winning records, struggled from start to finish, completing 20-of-33 passes for just 132 yards.
Cousins connected with Stefon Diggs on a 2-yard score to make it a 13-10 with 1:51 left in the third quarter, but the Bears imposed their will on the ensuing driving, keeping the ball for more than nine minutes on a 16-play, 75-yard drive that ended on a three-yard touchdown plunge by Tarik Cohen.
A two-point conversion pass to a linebacker, yes, a linebacker, was successful and the Bears went up 21-10 with just 7:46 left in the game.
The backbreaking drive was highlighted by four third-down conversions for first downs. Chicago was 8-of-12 on third down for the game while the Vikings were just 1-of-10.
The frustration continued the next time the Vikings got the ball, with Aldrick Robinson dropping a pass that hit him in the hands. It would’ve been good for a first down but instead went to fourth down and the Bears stood tall, forcing a turnover on downs and essentially ending the game.
Chicago put in its backups on defense after taking a 24-10 lead and the Vikings still couldn’t move ball, turning it over on downs twice more before the clock mercifully struck zeros.
The Vikings, who went 13-3 last season and spent big money to improve the roster, finish the 2018 season with a disappointing 8-7-1 record.
