The Vikings prevailed against the Bears Sunday with a strong defensive effort that secured three takeaways and limited Chicago’s passing combination of Justin Fields (and then Tyson Bagent) to DJ Moore.

Jordan Hicks had a monstrous day, intercepting a pass deep in Minnesota territory and then returning a fumble 42 yards for a touchdown. Hicks got his hands on one more football after the game when Head Coach Kevin O’Connell presented game balls to him, cornerback Byron Murphy, Jr., and safety Josh Metellus, who forced the fumble that Hicks scooped and scored.

That lift was appreciated — some could easily argue required — on a day when the offense mustered one touchdown in its first game without superstar receiver Justin Jefferson.

The offense lost Ezra Cleveland to a foot injury during the game. He was replaced by Dalton Risner at left guard.

Marcus Davenport suffered an ankle injury early in the game. Danielle Hunter and D.J. Wonnum did a great job of affecting Bears QBs at multiple points during the game.

As a reminder, we’ll continue to work in fans’ emails in our Rehash series on days after games and in Final Thoughts, which usually posts on Fridays.

The interception by Hicks was caught at the Minnesota 9-yard line and returned to the 23, giving the Vikings almost normal starting field position. The team then drove 77 yards in 1:35, highlighted by catches of 21 and 12 yards by T.J. Hockenson.

It was a good example of complementary football that’s been hard to find early this season.

The third quarter start, however, kept the Vikings from dominating the middle eight minutes of the game. Minnesota had a chance to “double dip” with a score before and immediately after halftime but went three-and-out.

I think field position on the next drive probably impacted decisions. The Vikings took over at their 5, lost 2 on the run by Mattison and then had a drop on a checkdown to him. Cousins found Hockenson for a gain of 8 on third-and-14 to create a bit of breathing room. A 5-yard penalty on the Bears for a neutral zone infraction helped the Vikings flip the field with a 45-yard net punt by Ryan Wright.

It seemed like the offense was starting to get back in rhythm on its next drive and with a 19-6 lead, but a holding penalty against Hockenson on third-and-2 upended that possession and forced a 57-yard field goal attempt by Greg Joseph, who drilled kicks from 53 and 51 yards for Minnesota’s first six points.

I’m not sure that many Browns fans were optimistic heading into Sunday’s game against the 49ers, but Cleveland wound up upsetting San Francisco as a nearly double-digit home underdog.