Winning Ugly Becoming the Norm for the Minnesota Vikings

Winning ugly is still a winning recipe for the Minnesota Vikings, who survived a scary injury to quarterback Teddy Bridgewater and an overtime charge from their pesky visitors to beat the St. Louis Rams and improve to 6-2 in 2015. 

The Vikings have now won four straight games, moving into a tie with the Green Bay Packers for first place in the NFC North. The four wins have come by only 21 combined points, including Sunday's 21-18 win. Blair Walsh kicked the Vikings into the win column for the second straight week, connecting on a 40-yard field goal in overtime just seven days after beating the Chicago Bears as time expired. 

There are no style points in the NFL. Just wins, losses and ties, and the Vikings now have six wins in eight tries. But there was nothing stylish about Sunday's triumph. 

	Score	Winning Plays
vs. Chiefs	16-10	Back-to-back stops in 4th quarter
at Lions	28-19	Stefon Diggs' go-ahead TD
at Bears	23-20	Diggs TD, Walsh FG as time expired
vs. Rams	21-18	Walsh FG in overtime

Minnesota gained less than 300 yards, converted just 3-of-13 third downs and nearly let the resilient Rams steal a game at TCF Bank Stadium. 

The Vikings scored on their first two possessions to go up 10-0, but the offense then produced three straight punts and an interception as St. Louis eventually established a 15-10 advantage. Minnesota got back on track when Bridgewater orchestrated a six-play, 60-yard drive, which culminated in the quarterback's six-yard scramble into the end zone. He then rolled out to his right and punched in the two-point conversion to give the Vikings a 18-15 lead. 

A pair of controversial hits on Bridgewater turned the game. 

Defensive end William Hayes hit Bridgewater low as he scrambled to his left and threw off balance in the second half but no flag was thrown and the Vikings punted. Minnesota's second-year quarterback grasped his knee and walked off gingerly, but he returned to the game on the next series. 

That's when the Rams knocked him out of the game. Literally. 

Ann Heisenfelt/Associated Press

On a 2nd-down play, Bridgewater avoided pressure and took off to his left. He was in the process of sliding down when Rams defensive back Lamarcus Joyner dove shoulder first, connecting high and bouncing Bridgewater's head off the turf. He appeared to lose consciousness for a few moments as he laid stomach-down on the field. 

It was a scary moment. Joyner was flagged for unnecessary roughness, but Bridgewater left the game with concussion symptoms and did not return. He finished with 13 completions for just 144 yards and an interception. 

The Vikings punted on their next three possessions, setting up the comeback. Rams kicker Greg Zuerlein missed his first game-tying field goal with 1:45 left, but after Minnesota quickly went three-and-out, Zuerlein connected from 53 yards to tie the contest with 12 seconds to go. 

Head coach Mike Zimmer then took a gamble after winning the coin toss in overtime. His options were simple: Either take the ball with backup quarterback Shaun Hill and fight a wicked wind that had swirled through the stadium all afternoon or take the wind and bank on the Vikings' stifling defense to get a stop. 

A life-long defensive coach, Zimmer rolled with the wind and his defense, and it paid off big time. 

Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports

The Vikings forced a St. Louis punt after three plays. After Marcus Sherels returned the ensuing punt 26 yards to near-midfield, Minnesota fed Adrian Peterson on three of the possession's first four plays to set up the game-wining field goal. Walsh's kick from 40 yards out sailed right down broadway, wind nary a factor, and the Vikings escaped with another hard-fought win. 

Minnesota is getting used to winning ugly.

As was the case Sunday, there was nothing pretty about wins over the Kansas City Chiefs, Detroit Lions or Bears in consecutive weeks leading up to Week 9. Minnesota was clearly the better team in all three games, but the final scoreline and method of victory rarely matched the disparity on the field. 

It was a different kind of ugly on Sunday.

Built on the foundation of a strong running game and disruptive defense, the Rams came into Minnesota on the back of three wins in four games. Two similarly constructed teams battled it out for more than 65 minutes before a winner was decided. It wasn't aesthetically pleasing for most of the contest, but the Vikings emerged with another win and, once again, that's all that matters. 

Maybe the last four weeks say something about the Vikings. A team not firing on all cylinders is still finding ways to win week after week. 

Entering Week 10, Minnesota is 6-2 and tied for first place in the NFC North. There's still no asterisk needed for ugly wins in the NFL. Ugly has driven the Vikings to the top of the division. 

Zach Kruse covers the Vikings for Bleacher Report. 

Follow @zachkruse2