Bears kick their way to victory over Vikings in dour encounter

Minnesota Vikings 10-12 Chicago Bears

Cairo Santos' match-winning field goal with 10 seconds remaining secured a 12-10 victory for the Chicago Bears over the Minnesota Vikings on Monday night.

Santos was successful with four kicks on the night, the crucial one being the 30-yard effort that capped off a contest that was defined by aggressive defences and error=prone attacks.

The Bears trailed 10-9 when they took over on their own 22-yard line with no timeouts and 2:29 remaining. Fields pushed the ball bear midfield but faced third-and-10 after back-to-back incompletions.

On the next play, Fields found DJ Moore open downfield for a 36-yard gain .That gave the Bears a fresh set of downs on the Minnesota 13-yard line.

Soon after, Fields took a knee on three plays in a row to set up a short field goal opportunity.

The ending spoiled a near comeback by Minnesota, which grabbed a 10-9 lead with just under six minutes remaining. Dobbs fired a 17-yard pass to TJ Hockenson for the only touchdown of the night by either team.

Chicago had taken a 9-3 advantage with 14:15 remaining on Santos' third field goal. He connected from 55 yards for his longest kick of the night.

Then came Chicago defence's fourth interception. Kyler Gordon picked off a deflected pass from Dobbs to give the Bears the ball back at the Minnesota 38-yard line.

The Vikings joined the takeaway party several plays later. Danielle Hunter popped the ball loose from Fields, and Sheldon Day pounced on it to give Minnesota the ball back on its 23-yard line.

The Bears' defence flustered Dobbs and the Vikings for most of the first half.

Minnesota finished the first quarter with minus-7 total yards, and Dobbs threw a pair of first-half interceptions to Chicago defenders Jaylon