Viktor
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- Mar 19, 2019
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Rookie defensive lineman D.J. Wonnum recorded the second sack of Foles on the evening, dropping the QB for a loss of 9 late in the game. The play also occurred on third down.
And on the Bears second-to-final possession, Gladney stopped Robinson four yards behind the line of scrimmage, forcing Chicago into its second unsuccessful fourth-down attempt of the game.
"Third down is money down," Smith said. "First of all, it helps when on first and second down, you've got them in third-and-long. But if you can get off the field on third down, that normally wins games. Our history here has been pretty good on third downs, and we've had some games where it hasn't been up to par. And honestly, fourth downs this year, we've been pretty bad. So getting off the field on fourth down in kind of a game-winning situation was pretty good."
Told Chicago's third-down conversion percentage of 18, Smith gave a satisfied nod.
"Yeah, that's pretty good. You're probably going to win a lot of games like that," he said.
The Vikings limited the Bears to just 149 net yards on the night, including a mere 32 yards in the second half.
Foles was 15-of-26 passing for 106 yards and one interception for a passer rating of 51.1 before being carted off with an injury inside the final minute. Smith opened his postgame press conference by offering well-wishes for the opposing quarterback.
"Before we start, I just want to say, shout-out to Nick Foles," he said. "I hope he's all right. I have a lot of respect for that guy. I know everybody in the league does. I hope he's OK."