Mike Zimmer, Vikings Defense Get Last Laugh in Season's Final Game

Mike Zimmer and the Minnesota Vikings finally got off the divisional snide in a 13-9 victory over the tumultuous Chicago Bears. Zimmer would not have had it any other way than by doing it in a low-scoring affair to close out the season with a win.

By allowing only nine points on three field goals, the Vikings defense kept its opponent out of the end zone for the first time since Week 1.

Importantly for the Vikings, Sunday’s outing was vastly different than the previous showdown with Chicago. The defense held strong from the opening snap to the final whistle this time around.

Week	Pass Yds	Rush Yds	FD	Points
11	330	138	24	21
17	165	99	12	9

In its terrific defensive performance, the Vikings defense halved Chicago's passing yards and first downs. Allowing three field goals instead of three touchdowns is also a positive indicator for a defense unable to bring drives to a halt just a week ago.

The difference falls on the execution of Zimmer's scheme. On Sunday, the Vikings defense implemented the game plan to perfection.

Zimmer wants to be aggressive with man coverage and steer quarterbacks to throw underneath where his defenders will rally to make stops. Jay Cutler's final statistics show how successful Minnesota was in pulling that off. Cutler completed 64 percent of throws, not far off his season average, but his yardage was heavily deflated at 4.8 yards per attempt. In Week 11, that figure was 7.7.

Ann Heisenfelt/Associated Press

Just like Zimmer's defense orchestrates, the difference showed up on third downs. Whereas the Bears converted 59 percent of third downs in Week 11, they only converted 27 percent in Week 17. Minnesota forced Cutler to throw underneath and then took advantage on crucial downs.

Keeping Chicago out of big plays was a success as well. Cutler's longest completion went for a humble 22 yards, hardly the stuff of an impactful offense that the Bears' has so frequently been in recent memory.

Xavier Rhodes essentially shut down Alshon Jeffery. Zimmer's willingness to adapt and let Rhodes shadow No. 1 receivers is starting to pay dividends. Two catches for 34 yards from Jeffery paints Minnesota's coverage in a much brighter light than his 11-reception, 135-yard day back in Week 11.

Zimmer and the Vikings can point to the development of Rhodes as a success in 2014. The coach was clearly emotional about what Rhodes has accomplished, per Derek Whetmore of 1500 ESPN:

"

Here's a relatively emotional Zimmer on Rhodes: "Xavier came up to me and said, ‘Thanks for everything,’ helping him get good, you know?"

— Derek Wetmore (@DerekWetmore) December 28, 2014"

Even Minnesota's run defense, one frequently ravaged over the course of 2014, held its own. Matt Forte only managed three yards per carry, and Chicago only picked up five rushing first downs in the game.

Minnesota's Week 17 victory is a staying reminder of why Zimmer was brought into town in the first place. He has the defensive expertise to get the most out of his personnel, shows the versatility to game-plan with an array of different pieces and coaches a resilient team.

The performance of Audie Cole, a linebacker rushed into duty for the final week, is exhibit A: 

"

Audie Cole with a diving pass breakup, after his interception negated by offside penalty. Heck of a day for him.

— Ben Goessling (@GoesslingESPN) December 28, 2014"

When the depths of the roster perform like Cole did on Sunday, it reflects positively on the coaching staff.

The entire Minnesota team faced adverse situations all year long between injuries, suspensions and the trials of young players. It continuously rebounded, competing on a week-in and week-out basis. It clawed its way to a promising 7-9 finish.

Minnesota keeps being molded into Zimmer's image, so it's only right that it goes out on a high note with a strong defensive performance. Despite its ups and downs, the defense showed tons of promise in 2014 and will be a building block for Minnesota as it heads into the offseason with an eye toward 2015.

Statistics via ESPN.com.