Kirk Cousins passed for 172 yards and three touchdowns in the second half to lead a Vikings comeback to beat the Bears 31-17 on Sunday in a pad-the-stats game between eliminated teams.
Afterward, Vikings Coach Mike Zimmer waved to fans as he walked off the field. With two years remaining on his contract, he said he had not been informed about his status for 2022.
The victory gave Zimmer a 72-56-1 record in eight years, including 2-3 in the playoffs. The Vikings have missed the postseason in three of the past four years.
Justin Jefferson and K.J. Osborn had touchdown catches in the fourth quarter for the Vikings (8-9), who outscored the Bears 28-3 after halftime.
Anthony Barr and D.J. Wonnum each had two of Minnesota's seven sacks of Andy Dalton, who went 33 for 48 for 325 yards and a touchdown pass to Damien Williams that gave the Bears a 14-0 lead.
Darnell Mooney had 12 catches for 126 yards to pass the 1,000-yard receiving mark for the Bears (6-11), who are 30-35 in four seasons under Nagy without a win in the playoffs.
Bears Coach Matt Nagy elected to go for it on fourth down six times, with only one conversion. Andy Dalton took sacks on three of the first four of those plays for 35 lost yards, with two of those on fourth-and-1. He also threw a fourth down interception late in the fourth quarter, when Patrick Peterson picked him off for a 66-yard touchdown return.
The Bears had seven possessions over the first three quarters and reached at least the Minnesota 35 on each one, but they had one touchdown and three field goals by Cairo Santos to show for it.
On their first drive of the second half, Dalton scrambled on third-and-8 for what was initially ruled a touchdown. The replay review reversed the call with his knee down just short of the goal line. Then Barr chased Dalton down for a 15-yard loss after he looped around behind the line of scrimmage looking for an open receiver.
Dalton, the 11-year veteran, made his sixth start of the season. Rookie Justin Fields landed on the COVID-19 reserve list this week.
The Bears sent their first-round draft pick, which will be No. 7, to the New York Giants for last year's trade up to get Fields.
