Monday 30 September 2019 01:28, UK
The Chicago Bears clinched a third-straight victory, riding their defense to a dominant 16-6 divisional win over the Minnesota Vikings at Soldier Field.
The Bears (3-1) were rocked by a shoulder injury to their starting quarterback Mitchell Trubisky - ruled out of the rest of the game - on the opening drive, but back-up Chase Daniel came in an immediately led a touchdown drive to see Chicago into an early lead.
Daniel found Tarik Cohen for a 10-yard TD and, though the Bears could only add three further field goals to their score, their defense bottled up the Vikings (2-2) offense and bullied quarterback Kirk Cousins, sacking him six times - tied for a career high.
Chicago dominated the time of possession, particularly in the first half, with two lengthy scoring drives - Cohen going in after 14 plays and seven minutes, while they added a field goal added as time expired following a 16-play, six minute effort.
Minnesota, meanwhile, were forced to punt on their opening possession, while a Stefon Diggs fumble - called as such following a challenge by Bears coach Matt Nagy - killed their second.
The second half started even worse for the Vikings, with Cousins strip-sacked by Khalil Mack on the first play from scrimmage after the break, helping to set up another Bears field goal.
Eddy Pineiro tacked on three more, with his third successful kick stretching the lead to 16-0 later in the third quarter, and though the Bears offense offered very little for the rest of the contest, such was the dominance of their defense that it didn't matter.
Cousins was continuously hassled and harangued by a ferocious Chicago front seven, taken down six times, before finally leading a scoring drive in the fourth quarter, with Dalvin Cook rumbling in from two yards out.
But, Minnesota's two-point attempt to try and make it a one-score game failed and the Bears were able to run down the clock and clinch a comfortable victory.
Chicago - The Bears are in London! They take on the Oakland Raiders in the first ever NFL game from the new Tottenham Hotspur stadium. It's live on Sky Sports, with kick-off at 6pm.
Minnesota - The Vikings would have been confident of a routine win in New York a few weeks ago, but now the prospect of a Daniel Jones-led Giants coming in off back-to-back wins looks a much tougher propostion.
Week Four concludes on Monday night with Pittsburgh Steelers hosting the Cincinnati Bengals - follow the action live on Sky Sports Action and Main Event from 1am.
