Minnesota Vikings: Studs and duds from Week 10 win vs. Bears

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(Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images) /

Stud: Kirk Cousins

Coming into the Monday Night Football game on the road, Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins once again faced the media’s criticism of his brutal 0-9 record on Monday night during his NFL career. For the first time in 10 games on the national stage, Cousins finally was able to crack into the win column on Monday and played pretty well to lead Minnesota to a big divisional win on the road.

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The veteran quarterback was forced to air the ball out more than he has had to in the last few weeks, totaling 36 pass attempts against Chicago. Cousins managed to complete 25 passes for 292 yards and two touchdowns, although he threw one interception along the way.

Overall, Cousins played well and he stepped up late to help lead the Vikings to a much-needed win while keeping the winning streak and playoff hopes of Minnesota alive.

Dud: Special Teams

For the second straight week, the special teams unit for Minnesota looked horrendous and was the biggest weakness on display for the purple and gold on the road.

A week after seeing two punts blocked by the Detroit Lions, the Vikings hurt both themselves and allowed the Bears to add to it during the game in Week 10. For starters, Minnesota almost fumbled a punt in the first half and later on went to fail to convert on an extra point in the fourth quarter after a botched snap by the long snapper.

On the other side of things, Chicago opened up the second half with a 104-yard kick return by former Viking Cordarrelle Patterson that gave the Bears some life.

Minnesota needs to work on its special teams game, or it could end up costing the Vikings a game at some point this year.

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