CHICAGO — High-rise condominiums intermittently peered through the wall of fog encasing Soldier Field on Sunday, overlooking a rain-drenched battle between rivals.

The conditions made it challenging, and at times downright sloppy, but Minnesota played well enough in each phase to upset Chicago, 9-3, and take home an early division lead.

Victorious, Will Reichard walked out of the visiting locker room at 3:15 p.m. (CT) and strolled into the tunnel leading to the hallowed grounds. He peeled off his socks, one by one, and squeegeed the water out of them, then clapped the bottoms of his cleats together to get rid of the mud. He contemplated changing out both mid-game, but "kickers are kind of weird."

"I really like the ones that I have," Reichard said of the soccer cleats he's worn since 2025. "I like mine as worn in as possible — and I basically just ride them until the wheels fall off."

Reichard extended his field goal streak to 23 in a row by drilling the three that carried Minnesota to victory and a 2-0 start in the lowest-scoring game in Vikings-Bears history.

Credit to the defense for shutting Caleb Williams and the Bears offense out of the paint a week after they plopped 59 points on Carolina and scored six rushing touchdowns. Credit to Carson Wentz for finding Justin Jefferson (three catches, 55 yards) and not turning the ball over in super slick weather, and major credit to Vikings running back, Aaron Jones, Sr., who ran wet and wild on rain-soaked sod, piling up 105 yards on 23 attempts without two big pieces in the run phase, his buddy Jordan Mason and rugged receiver Jauan Jennings.

But, man, how about those special teams?!

Underneath an unrelenting rain and the perpetual wind that gives the city its charm, Reichard went 3-for-3 from 35, 49 and 39 yards; rookie punter Brett Thorson boomed six balls for an average of 49.5, including one for 62, flipping field position like a veteran; and Isaiah Rodgers screamed off the corner to deny Chicago's game-tying field goal attempt.

Ultimately, that was the difference. That being superior execution in the one-play phase.

"This team is built to have each other's back no matter what," Reichard said. "The only thing that matters is winning. The stats don't matter — nothing matters besides winning, and so that's what we're working for every single week is to try to come in and get the win."

He added, "We knew that we had to make a difference in the game, and I feel like we did."

Take Rodgers, for example.

The cornerback, who also recovered a fumble popped out by Jalen Redmond earlier in the game at the Vikings goal line, rejected Cairo Santos' kick with 6:21 left to preserve a slim lead. The denial occurred moments after Williams fell awkwardly and Tyson Bagent replaced him.

"I was a little exhausted," Rodgers said, sharing he got a finger on the Bears initial field goal. "I looked up at the clock and realized that they were down 3, so, really, it was all or nothing."

"He's got a huge gift," said Reichard, who is used to Rodgers executing with speed and precision at practice. "Probably the best in the league at doing it, if we're being honest.

"When you're going up against somebody like that, you've got to operate a little bit quicker," the All-Pro kicker continued. "He's very talented at getting off the ball as fast as possible."

Vikings Head Coach Kevin O'Connell was blown away by Rodgers' fleet-footedness.

"I have no idea how he got that kind of get-off," he said. "I walked out one time when [Blake Cashman] got a little banged up, and my whole sneaker was in the middle of the ground, about four inches deep in the middle of the field. So how he got that kind of get-off, I mean, he's world-class fast, but that's a whole different ball game, playing on that surface.

"But I thought it was a huge play to block the field goal, get the stop down there, just like Jalen Redmond's punch out that Zay recovered," the coach added. "I mean, make [them] snap it one more time against our defense."

Thorson is another example of the Vikings shining in the details.

The elements weren't in the Aussie's favor, but he weathered them, if you will.

"It definitely doesn't make it easier — you get so used to how you do it," Thorson said, noting a wetter football is difficult to catch and punt, but reps during the week readied him.

Thorson's power and accuracy pinning the Bears a couple times inside their 20, was a positive development in his second NFL game after Special Teams Coordinator Matt Daniels noted that he was a little too conservative during his debut against Green Bay.

Outside linebacker Bo Richter made a significant stop in the third phase, too, notching a tackle on the kickoff after Reichard's second field goal, halfway through the second quarter, that showed his attention to detail and the growth of Minnesota's special teams.

"They wanted to cut it back to the field — they hit us on that last year (in Week 11) — so we needed to make sure that didn't happen," Richter stated. "We can't let the past redo itself.

"That's really my first crazy rain game; we had some bad snow games in college, but that's definitely the craziest it's been," Richter added. "It was soggy out there. It was fun. We prepped for it. Maybe we got lucky, we [practiced] in some rainy conditions in Minnesota."

Reichard agreed, "It's definitely fun. Being able to play well in those conditions is a huge hat's off to 'DePo' (long snapper Andrew DePaola) and Brett, they were phenomenal all day."

"If it was a little bit more wet, I would have had to change [my cleats]," he added. "I plant pretty hard normally, so that's a huge thing for me, trying to make sure I have good footing."

Reichard's footing proved great despite showers that fell starting in pregame and never ceased, even coming down sideways due to winds that were more ever-present than gusts.

"Games like this are — just like last week — games like this are kind of games where I think there can be massive growth within your locker room of our way of doing things," O'Connell shared. "And I'm so proud of them for not only today, but just how they've approached everything so far. And there's nothing but more adversity waiting around the corner for the group. But I know these guys will attack it the right way."

Same as Reichard and the rest of the locker room, Richter's cleats soaked up 60 minutes.

"They might be done for the year," he quipped, "but we made it out."

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