Jalen Redmond punched the ball loose, and Isaiah Rodgers got on top of it.

Minnesota secured the textbook takeaway at the 1-yard line, stealing a high-likelihood touchdown from Chicago and returning possession to Carson Wentz and Company.

The Vikings defense played lights-out on a dreary day in the Windy City, making stop after stop in a gritty, old-school division matchup that ended 9-3 in Minnesota’s favor.

"That was a crucial play at that point in the game to swing momentum," Dallas Turner said.

"I just try to be consistent," a humble Redmond added. "Coach [Brian] Flores puts us in great positions, and we've just gotta make the play."

Rodgers' recovery occurred partway through the third quarter and halted Chicago's longest (yardage-wise) drive of the day.

"Make him snap it one more time against our defense, and as long as we keep him out, we're going to think we can keep him out until they cross the goal line," Vikings Head Coach Kevin O'Connell said. "Just super proud of those guys, Flo', his staff, those players."

Redmond's forced fumble marked the second of his career and headlined what felt like a career game thus far for the defensive lineman. He helped keep the Bears defense on their toes all afternoon; at one point during the NFL on FOX broadcast, the former UFL player was referred to among Minnesota defenders who "came from nowhere" to be stalwarts on Flores' defense.

"We just wanted to do our job up front," Redmond said.

He finished his day with four tackles and a pass defensed to accompany his forced turnover. Rodgers also had four tackles and a pass defensed, plus a monster field goal block on special teams to keep points off the board for Chicago.

And don't forget about Dallas Turner, who secured the Vikings win on a nail-biting final play. The outside linebacker sacked Tyson Bagent — who had come in during the fourth quarter for an injured Caleb Williams — for a loss of 9 after earlier sacking Williams. Turner consistently caused discomfort for Chicago's QBs; late in the first half and after a bevy of Bears penalties, he disrupted a Williams pass intended for Cole Kmet on third-and-29.

"I just looked up and am like, 'Thank you, God. Let me walk off this field,' " Redmond laughed. "I was happy we won; I was happy for him."

​

Turner logged five tackles, two sacks, four quarterback hits and two tackles for loss Sunday.

Wentz acknowledged the stress of Chicago's final drive, which came down to one last snap with 0:01 on the clock.

"It's never over 'til it's over. I've been on the good side and the bad side of games like that. And so you never let your emotions get too high, but everyone is still nervous," Wentz said. "There's still time on the clock, and that's a good team, good offense over there. But I had a lot of faith in our defense stepping up the way they did, and it was fitting that Dallas Turner [came] off the edge to kind of seal the deal. That's cool."

The Vikings limited the Bears to 297 total net yards and did not allow a single touchdown. Williams was 15-of-26 passing for 138 yards and an interception before leaving the game with a right hamstring injury. His passer rating was 56.2.​

"It's hard; I'm not gonna lie," Turner said. "Caleb's very elusive, a real athlete. Prayers to him with his injury. It's definitely a challenge — a fun challenge, if you ask me — to chase a guy like that around."

Byron Murphy, Jr., snagged the pick late in the first quarter, helping the Vikings win the turnover battle 2-0. He and the rest of Minnesota's secondary locked down receivers most of the day, often not allowing Williams an open target. Kyle Monangai led Chicago with 47 rushing yards on 10 attempts. D'Andre Swift had 16 carries for 45 yards and five catches for 54 receiving yards.

Blake Cashman led the Vikings with 10 tackles, followed by Murphy, Joshua Metellus and Eric Wilson with seven apiece. Rookie Caleb Banks recorded six tackles and a tackle for loss.

O'Connell said he loved the defensive game plan heading into Sunday, focusing on playing soundly "whether it was how we were working some of our movement, where we were … trying to funnel the ball."

"And then it was relying on our guys from a standpoint of setting edges, cutback players showing up," he said. "I thought tackling a couple times in space, the surface can be tough for guys to close space, [keep that] balance, make a tackle, and they were able to make a couple loose plays to get new first downs like that.

"For the most part in between the trenches, I thought our guys answered the bell against the team we knew wanted to run it and try to get some plays off of them," O'Connell added. "And Caleb is such a unique talent even when you think you've got him. I give our guys a ton of credit for chasing him around all day, but we did keep him in there enough. And I thought the back end did a really nice job plastering to their guys through the end of the down."

Turner noted the "mental strength" needed to play in a game like Sunday's and lauded his teammates for showing up the way they did.

"Whatever it took," O'Connell commented on the resolute win.

Minnesota improves to 2-0 on the season after back-to-back NFC North victories.

"When the schedule came out, you know exactly what that's gonna mean — a chance to open up U.S. Bank Stadium at home against a divisional opponent and then to go on the road, we just wanted to find a way," O'Connell said.

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