Vikings' defense is again well-connected and well-coached, at the direction of Brian Flores

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EAGAN, Minn. (AP) — The Minnesota Vikings took plenty of questions about their defense into this season, jettisoning veterans for salary cap savings at three starting spots and carrying tenuous depth at a couple of key positions.

The return of defensive coordinator Brian Flores probably should have been the first clue, though, that the Vikings were going to be just fine.

After scoring eight touchdowns and totaling 552 yards in a 59-37 win at Carolina in Week 1, quarterback Caleb Williams and the Chicago Bears surged into their home opener and found a rain-soaked Soldier Field with an unrelenting Vikings defense.

Minnesota fueled an ugly 9-3 win on Sunday with four sacks, two turnovers and an average allowance of just 4.2 yards per play.

“We just trust Brian Flores,” cornerback Isaiah Rodgers said. “We want to go out there and play for our coaches, understanding that the scheme is going to work. We’ve just got to believe in it.”

Vikings coach Kevin O'Connell said he immediately felt confident in the strategy Flores had for containing Williams and his dual threat and Bears coach Ben Johnson's shape-shifting offense during their regular game-planning meeting at the beginning of the week.

Flores frequently sent extra pass rushers as he did against the Packers, but even more critical in this game was the way the Vikings committed to stopping the run — a combination of alignment, assignment and performance that continually put the Bears in unfavorable situations. Jalen Redmond led the push on the interior again, with four tackles, a pass deflection and a forced fumble near the goal line.

“I just try to be consistent with my play. That’s really it. That’s how I try to hold myself, to be consistent and keep doing the things that work well,” Redmond said. “Flo put us in a great position. We’ve just got to make it work, and make the layups.”

The Vikings are 25th in the NFL in percentage of their cap devoted to defense, according to contract data from Spotrac. Their top two inside linebackers, top two safeties and one starting edge rusher are all over 30. But being well-coached and well-connected can go a long way. Flores regularly gives the players a voice in the game plan, before and during the action.

“He’s asking us what calls we really like, what we feel confident in,” linebacker Blake Cashman said. “He’s asking the front, ‘Hey, if we’re bringing a backer, what rushes are you guys confident in?’ We’re having that conversation on the sideline so we’re all on the same page.”

Special teams coordinator Matt Daniels can be proud of the way his units have performed. Rodgers blocked a field goal attempt by the Bears that would've tied it with 6:21 left. Rookie punter Brett Thorson was also a big help for the defense with an average of 49.5 gross yards per punt, including a 62-yarder that helped keep the Bears out of scoring range late in the second quarter.

The Vikings converted just three of 13 third downs, and they failed on all four third-and-short plays of 3 yards or fewer to go. Blake Brandel's high snap through Wentz's hands led to a 22-yard loss on third-and-2 from their 34 in the first quarter. Wentz was sacked on third-and-2 from their 32 in the third quarter.

RB Aaron Jones. He not only produced his first 100-yard rushing game in 22 months since the Vikings won at Chicago in Week 12 of the 2024 season, but the 31-year-old also was on the field more than he'd been since Week 16 of that season by logging 42 of 52 snaps (80.8%) by the offense.

WR Tai Felton. Though this wasn't a game for featuring the passing attack, the second-year wide receiver didn't get any snaps on offense. He nearly cost the team with a special teams mistake early in the fourth quarter when he tackled Bears punt returner Kalif Raymond after he'd gone out of bounds, but Felton wasn't flagged. With Jauan Jennings out last week for a personal matter, punt and kickoff returner Myles Price moved into the No. 3 wide receiver role behind Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison.

Kyler Murray will return at QB this week after clearing the concussion protocol. ... Starting DL Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins was sidelined by a hip injury on Sunday, creating more opportunity for first-round draft pick Caleb Banks, who made an impact as a run-stopper. Ingram-Dawkins' status is day to day. ... Thorson strained his hamstring in the game, too, and was being evaluated on Monday.

23 — Will Reichard's streak of consecutive field goals made is the longest active run in the NFL and third-longest in team history.

The Vikings will face a frustrated team on Sunday at Tampa Bay, which has opened with one-score losses to Cincinnati and Cleveland. The Vikings are just 2-7 against the Buccaneers since the league realignment in 2002, after going 31-17 against them as NFC Central opponents between 1977-2001.

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