Biggest Takeaways from Minnesota Vikings' Week 8 Win

The Minnesota Vikings crushed their Chicago curse on Sunday, coming back from seven points down to beat the Chicago Bears for the first time at Soldier Field since 2007. Kicker Blair Walsh hit a field goal as time expired to lift Minnesota to a 23-20 victory, pushing the Vikings' record to 5-2—including 3-0 in the division—to start 2015. 

Running back Adrian Peterson rushed for 103 yards, and rookie receiver Stefon Diggs continued his incredible start with 95 yards and the game-tying touchdown.

In the following slides, we'll highlight the biggest takeaways from Minnesota's win over the Bears in Week 8. 

Receivers Bailed out Teddy Bridgewater

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Teddy Bridgewater deserves credit for flipping on the switch when he absolutely needed to, down seven points late in the fourth quarter. He led Minnesota to back-to-back scoring drives to win the game. 

The Vikings quarterback also got a bunch of help from his receivers. 

Rookie Stefon Diggs made two huge plays on Minnesota's game-tying drive. He went up and caught a tough throw from Bridgewater for 20 yards, preventing a potential interception. A few plays later, he made a short catch on third down, spun away from the tackler and scored down the left sideline. It was the kind of individual effort that makes a quarterback look good. 

Charles Johnson saved Bridgewater a possession later. He stole away an interception from Bears safety Antrel Rolle, positioning himself in front of the deep throw and high-pointing the football for 35 yards. The catch set up Blair Walsh's game-winning field goal. 

Completing a pass is a two-person job. Oftentimes, the quarterback makes it easy on the receiver. That wasn't the case late on Sunday. Bridgewater's receivers made big plays for their quarterback. 

Special Teams to the Rescue

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The Vikings' special teams deserve a lot of credit for Minnesota's fifth win of the season. 

Not only did Marcus Sherels return a Chicago punt for a score, but kicker Blair Walsh continued his hot run making field goals. 

Sherels provided a much-needed spark in the first half. He put the Vikings up 7-3 in the first quarter with a 65-yard return for a score. The Bears didn't even touch him as he broke contain to the outside and ran down the right sideline into the end zone. It marked Sherels' third punt return for a touchdown in his career, a new franchise record. 

Walsh also finished a perfect 3-of-3 kicking field goals, including the 36-yard game-winner. He also made from 48 and 43 yards. Walsh has now made 13 straight field goals. 

Overall, Minnesota's special teams accounted for 17 of the team's 23 points. 

Another Big Day for Stefon Diggs

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The Vikings' rookie receiver deserves a special mention. 

It's actually difficult to put into words how spectacular Diggs has been over his first four NFL games. 

By catching six passes for 95 yards and a score on Sunday, Diggs pushed his four-game numbers to 25 catches for 419 yards and two touchdowns. He's caught at least six passes for at least 80 yards in every game. On Sunday, Diggs was probably the difference between a win and a loss. 

He produced 64 of Minnesota's yards over the offense's final two drives, including the impressive 40-yard touchdown to tie the game. It was the biggest play of the contest, as Diggs broke off his route and created a throwing lane for Bridgewater on third down. Once he made the catch, the rookie wheeled around, exploded upfield and willed his way into the end zone. 

Superstars make big plays in the biggest moments. The Vikings' 21-year-old receiver looks well on his way to superstar status. 

Vikings Win on the Ground

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After back-to-back clunkers running the football, Adrian Peterson regained some footing and rushed for 103 yards against the Bears. Minnesota rushed for 147 total yards on Sunday, outgaining Chicago by 50 yards on the ground.

Winning the rushing battle looks like a successful formula for the Vikings. 

Through seven games, Minnesota is 5-0 when outrushing its opponent and 0-2 otherwise. Over the five wins, the Vikings have allowed an average of 71.8 yards per contest while rushing for 152.4—a difference of 80.6 yards. In the two losses, Minnesota has been outrushed by a 374-184 margin. 

No one stat can sum up why a team wins or loses. But the rushing numbers appear to have some correlation for the Vikings, a team dependent on dominating the line of scrimmage on defense and controlling the football on offense. 

Time to Consider the Vikings Legit?

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The Vikings are now 5-2, with a perfect 3-0 record in the division. The Green Bay Packers—kings of the NFC North for so long—sit just one game above Minnesota at 6-1. 

Is now the time to consider the Vikings legit? 

Minnesota has won five of its last six games since the disaster in Week 1, with the lone loss coming to the undefeated Broncos in Denver. The Vikings are winning in a variety of ways despite struggling for long stretches in a number of the games. Mike Zimmer's team is a tough, resilient bunch that appears to be gaining confidence with every hurdle bested. 

Then again, Minnesota has two wins over the 1-7 Detroit Lions, home victories over the San Diego Chargers and Kansas City Chiefs and a come-from-behind win over the Chicago Bears. You can only play the teams on your schedule, but no one will argue Minnesota's road has been a tough one through the first eight weeks. And while style points count for nothing in the NFL, the five wins haven't exactly been pretty. 

It still seems exceedingly safe to consider the Vikings a good football team in 2015. But do we know how good? The next six games figure to answer that question.

Minnesota will play the Rams at home, the Raiders in Oakland, the Packers at home, the Falcons in Atlanta, the Seahawks at home and the Cardinals in Arizona over the next six weeks. It's the kind of stretch that could either cement the Vikings' arrival as a contender or weed out Minnesota as a pretender.