The Chicago Bears came away with a narrow 12-10 victory on Monday Night Football against the Minnesota Vikings to earn their first divisional win under head coach Matt Eberflus.
It wasn't the prettiest win, but multiple players made just enough of a difference to secure the win for Chicago.
The Bears have won two of their last three games in 2023 and overall seem like a much improved team from what we've seen in weeks past.
Prior to Monday's game, we laid out the top three Bears players to watch against the Vikings. With the game officially wrapped up, let's take a look at how those three players performed on the national stage.
1. Kyler Gordon
The Bears second-year slot cornerback made quite a few headlines against the Vikings and overall had a solid performance. Kyler Gordon finished the game with his first interception of the season and added three defensive stops while allowing four receptions on five targets.
Gordon made a huge fourth down stop for the Bears defense in the third quarter while lined up in coverage against Vikings tight end T.J. Hockenson. Gordon outmuscled one of the best tight ends in the league and forced him out of bounds short of the first down line.
The main headline caused by Gordon on Monday night was when he was called for a taunting penalty in the second quarter for removing his helmet, which had a broken face mask. The horrendous call was made following an interception by fellow cornerback Jaylon Johnson. On Tuesday, the Bears social media team released the full mic'd up view to show what truly happened on that play.
Gordon was also flagged for a defensive pass interference after making a huge stop also against Hockenson in coverage. Unfortunately, Gordon held on to Hockenson's arm for too long and wasn't able to get away with what was the correct call. Overall, his performance was solid defensively while being a part of the four takeaway effort.
2. Tremaine Edmunds
The Bears high-priced linebacker returned to form against the Vikings in Week 12. Tremaine Edmunds finished his night with seven tackles and two stuffs. In coverage, Edmunds allowed just two receptions for five yards on four targets.
Most importantly, Edmunds played 100% of the team's defensive snaps after Eberflus was criticized for not having Edmunds on the field for the entire final drive against the Detroit Lions the week before. For comparison, Edmunds played 66% of the team's defensive snaps in Week 11.
Edmunds has now totaled 7+ combined tackles in nine games in 2023. The only game he failed to reach 7+ tackles was in Week 8 against the Los Angeles Chargers after leaving the game early with a knee injury. Edmunds isn't the Bears flashiest defender, but he's definitely been a consistent presence in the middle of the field.
3. Cairo Santos
Cairo Santos became a legend among Bears fans for the second time in the last three weeks. The Bears place kicker is a major reason why the team has won two of their last three games after totaling 22 points in Week 10 and Week 12 combined.
Against the Vikings, Santos scored all 12 of the Bears points in relief of the team's offense who failed to reach the end zone despite the takeaways created on defense.
Santos finished the game 4/5 on field goal attempts, with his one miss coming on a 48-yard attempt on the team's opening drive. Santos made up for it by tying a career-long with a 55-yard field goal made in the fourth quarter and followed it up with a game winning 30-yard field goal with 10 seconds remaining.
During the win, Santos passed Mac Percival for the 5th-most field goals made in Bears franchise history. It was quite the night for Santos who has now made 23 of his 25 field goal attempts while scoring 90 points for the team in 2023.
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