Stats That Stood Out: Vikings-Bears in Week 10

[Viktor]

The Vikings claimed a 19-13 victory over the Bears on Monday Night Football at Soldier Field by dominating on third downs, making plays in the passing game and overcoming some adverse down-and-distances.


Harrison Smith intercepted Nick Foles on Chicago's second offensive play, and the Vikings offense followed with a crisp scoring drive that Adam Thielen capped with a one-armed catch. Smith and the defense brought the necessary attitude in the slugfest, particularly in the final three quarters during which Chicago netted just 79 yards of offense.


Here are three stats that stood out:


1. Passing comparison


Kirk Cousins delivered his best performance as a Viking against the Bears. He finished with a passer rating of 100.7 after completing 25 of 36 passes (69.4 percent) for 292 yards and two scores to Thielen. He suffered an interception when a ball bounced off Thielen and into the arms of Khalil Mack, who had dropped into coverage.


According to Next Gen Stats, Cousins was expected to complete 62.2 percent of his passes. The excess of 7.2 percentage points was the greatest by any quarterback in Week 10.


Foles finished 15-of-26 passing (57.7 percent) for 106 yards with the interception for a passer rating of 51.1. Next Gen Stats calculated that Foles was expected to complete 64.8 percent, for a difference of minus-7.1 percentage points that ranked 23rd.