Cousins, Vikings Offense Excels on 3rd Downs Against Bears

[Viktor]

Both of Thielen's scores came on third downs, and Jefferson racked up 102 of his 135 receiving yards to help move the sticks. Of his 10 third-down completions, Cousins had seven that went for a first down or touchdown.


"I think [Vikings Offensive Coordinator] Gary [Kubiak] deserves a lot of the credit for just the game planning," Cousins said of Minnesota's third-down success. "He had a plan all week long of how to attack them on third down. I think when you go back and watch it, I think those plays put us in a great position.


"Then we had players get separation and man coverage, make plays, and find soft spots in the zones and protection had to hold up," Cousins added. "Third down and medium-to-long is where they know we're throwing it and they can pass rush, and we had great protection in those situations."


Added Jefferson: "We're just finding the open spots and giving the playmakers the ball. We made some big plays out there. That's what it's going to take in order for us to move the ball and get in scoring range."


All that against a Chicago defense that entered the game ranked first on third downs with a success rate of 31.0 percent (40 for 129).


On a night when the Bears keyed so heavily on Cook, a handful of other players stepped up when called upon.


Kyle Rudolph had four catches for 63 yards in his top statistical game of the season. The same can be said for Chad Beebe (two catches for 16 yards) and Tyler Conklin (two catches for 11 yards).


A total of eight Vikings offensive players recorded a catch or carry against the Bears.


"It's fun to get so many players involved … Conk', Beebe," Cousins said. "And we have confidence in so many players that you love being able to spread it around and show defenses that they have to honor a lot of different [eligible receivers].