(670 The Score) The Bears found a way to win again Sunday. They squandered a 13-point lead in the fourth quarter but won anyway when kicker Cairo Santos hit a 48-yard field goal on the final play to lift them to a 19-17 victory against the Vikings in Minneapolis.
Santos’ winning field goal was set up by a 56-yard kickoff return by veteran returner Devin Duvernay, which set the Bears up at the Vikings 40-yard line. Chicago ran three times and reached the 31-yard line to set up a fourth-and-1, at which point head coach Ben Johnson sent Santos onto the field with four seconds left.
It marked the Bears’ third straight comeback victory. Before Santos' winning field goal, it looked like it could be a flashback to the season opener, when the Bears blew an 11-point lead in the fourth quarter of a 27-24 loss.
This time, the Bears answered back for a victory.
“The belief that we’ve grown within the locker room is what changed,” Bears quarterback Caleb Williams said. “I think that’s been the biggest thing throughout the season so far, is the belief. When you have belief, when you have the trust between each other, these moments don’t seem too big.
“We got to find ways to win earlier. It’s something I’m going to preach until we start doing (it). But I think that belief and trust is there.”
Santos was 4-for-5 on field-goal attempts Sunday. He missed a 45-yard attempt earlier in the fourth quarter that would’ve extended the Bears’ lead to nine. The Vikings claimed the lead with 50 seconds remaining as quarterback J.J. McCarthy threw a 15-yard touchdown pass to receiver Jordan Addison. Duvernay made his big play on the ensuing kickoff.
The Bears’ offense sputtered for much of the game, posting 320 yards and just 4.4 yards per play. Chicago’s lone touchdown came on rookie running back Kyle Monangai's one-yard touchdown run in the second quarter.
The Bears frustrated McCarthy and the Vikings’ offense, holding Minnesota to 265 yards of offense and intercepting two passes.
The Bears improved to 7-3 and sat alone in first place in the NFC North at game's end. They've won seven of their past eight games. They host the Steelers (6-4) next Sunday at Soldier Field.