Vikings beat Bears 30-12, tie for NFC North lead

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Aaron Jones and Cam Akers had touchdown runs in the second half to complement a smothering performance by the Minnesota defense, and the Vikings moved into a tie for first place in the NFC North on Monday night by beating the Chicago Bears 30-12 for their seventh consecutive victory.

Justin Jefferson had seven catches for 73 yards, among them a touchdown from Sam Darnold in the first quarter that was set up by Jonathan Greenard’s sack and forced fumble on Caleb Williams.

Williams managed to keep alive his NFL rookie record streak of 286 straight passes without an interception for the eighth straight game, but the Bears have lost all of those. The first overall pick in the 2024 draft went 18 for 31 for 191 yards and threw a late touchdown pass to Keenan Allen after a blocked punt gave the Bears the ball at the Minnesota 27.

The Bears went 1 for 12 on third down and 1 for 3 on fourth down.

Darnold went 24 for 40 for 231 yards and threw his first interception in five games for the Vikings, who clinched a spot in the playoffs with Seattle’s loss to Green Bay the night before. They’ve got the division title squarely on their radar after Detroit’s 11-game losing streak was stopped by Buffalo on Sunday.

FALCONS 15, RAIDERS 9

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Kirk Cousins threw his first touchdown pass in five weeks and Atlanta did just enough to beat struggling Las Vegas and keep pace in the NFC South race.

Trying to pull off a late comeback, Raiders quarterback Desmond Ridder lofted two desperation passes into the end zone in the final 10 seconds. The first was incomplete and the second was intercepted by Jessie Bates III.

The Falcons ended a four-game losing streak to remain a game behind the first-place Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Atlanta owns the head-to-head tiebreaker.

Las Vegas lost its 10th consecutive game, the NFL’s longest active skid, and is tied with the New York Giants for the league’s worst record. It is the fifth-longest skid in Raiders history, and worst since dropping 16 in a row a decade ago.

The Associated Press