It was a tough-nosed divisional win for Minnesota to start the season 2-0.
The Minnesota Vikings have had an incredibly improbable start to the season.
After an offseason defined by the quarterback battle between Kyler Murray and J.J. McCarthy, with Murray ultimately winning the starting job, it’s instead been Carson Wentz under center for much of Minnesota’s first two games.
Murray was knocked out of the Week 1 contest with a concussion and wasn’t cleared to return Sunday against the Chicago Bears. Minnesota has leaned on Wentz in his absence, and somehow the Vikings are now 2-0 with a pair of wins over NFC North opponents.
That puts Minnesota in an excellent position through two weeks, especially with Detroit already dropping a game early in the season.
Sunday’s 9-3 victory looked nothing like Minnesota’s season opener.
Both the Vikings and Bears produced huge offensive performances in Week 1. This time, the conditions at Soldier Field changed everything. Rain, temperatures in the mid-60s and winds reaching roughly 19 mph turned the game into a battle for field position and forced both teams to win on the margins.
Minnesota simply made more of those plays.
The Vikings’ defensive performance was especially impressive considering what Chicago had done just one week earlier. The Bears scored 59 points in their opener, but Minnesota held them to only three points at home Sunday.
Wentz wasn’t spectacular, but he didn’t need to be. He completed 11 of 20 passes for 143 yards, with the most important number being zero turnovers. In a game where one mistake could completely swing momentum, Wentz protected the football and allowed the rest of the team to do its job.
Aaron Jones carried the offense with 105 rushing yards on 23 attempts, while Justin Jefferson still managed 55 receiving yards despite neither passing attack finding much rhythm.
All nine Minnesota points came from Will Reichard, who connected on field goals from 35, 49 and 39 yards. The Vikings took a 6-3 lead into halftime, kept Chicago off the scoreboard the entire second half and added one final field goal late to secure the six-point win.
Through two games, Minnesota has already shown an impressive amount of versatility.
The Vikings have dealt with a quarterback injury, played through difficult weather conditions and won games in completely different ways. They’ve also done it twice against division opponents, putting themselves in an excellent early position in the NFC North.
If Murray is able to return in Week 3, the offense should have another opportunity to take a step forward.
For now, though, the Vikings are 2-0. Given the path they’ve taken to get there, that might be the most impressive part of their season so far.
