Bears’ grades against Vikings are in. How did they do in clutch 19-17 win?

What marks do the Bears get after their 19-17 win against the Vikings in Minneapolis?

QUARTERBACK — B-MINUS

Caleb Williams started with early overthrows and finished just 16-for-32 for 193 yards and a 68.9 passer rating, but his stat line was hurt by wide receiver drops and — far more important in a choppy game like this one — he (1) avoided any serious screw-ups and (2) outplayed Vikings counterpart J.J. McCarthy all game. An early spin-away from blitzing safety Jay Ward led to a nice run that opened up the Bears’ first scoring drive. Downfield throws over the middle were on target all day (see: drops). Wait, does the Bears’ epic four-play, nine-yard march to set up a field goal at the end count as yet another game-winning drive for the QB?

TIGHT ENDS — A

Between them, Cole Kmet and Colston Loveland were targeted nine times for eight catches, totalling 85 yards. Kmet, especially, was a tank after the catch, leaving cornerback Isaiah Rodgers and linebackers Eric Wilson and Andrew Van Ginkel on the wrong end of collisions. Loveland had a 24-yard catch, running through a pair of would-be tacklers for a key first down. Loveland and Durham Smythe each had a killer block on the seven-yard run by D’Andre Swift that set up the walk-off field goal.

OFFENSIVE LINE — B

When they were needed most, the big uglies delivered in the run game. On the same seven-yard run by Swift, right guard Jonah Jackson pancaked Vikings lineman Jalen Redmond one-on-one, a sight the Bears no doubt will celebrate with multiple rewinds in film study. Williams was sacked twice, both coming on the same series to start the fourth quarter, but the second sack was on him completely for rolling directly into the outside rush of Van Ginkel.

DEFENSIVE LINE — C-MINUS

There wasn’t nearly enough pressure on McCarthy — though Grady Jarrett bulled up the middle and got close a couple of times, once forcing an underthrow that was intercepted — and there wasn’t much resistance against the run. The D-line should send McCarthy a nice gift basket for spraying incompletions all over the field out of his own generous nature.

SECONDARY — B-MINUS

Cornerback Nahshon Wright’s interception in the end zone, on which he high-pointed the ball right in front of receiver Jordan Addison, was one of the Bears’ plays of the year. Safety Kevin Byard III also had a pick, because that’s just what he does. But McCarthy also missed open receivers and got unlucky with some terrible drops by his guys, and Wright completely lost Addison on the Vikings’ go-ahead touchdown late in the fourth quarter.

SPECIAL TEAMS — B-PLUS

Kicker Cairo Santos’ fourth-quarter miss from 45 yards out almost ruined the day, but Devin Duvernay’s 56-yard kickoff return to set up Santos’ winning boot was at least a 7½ on a scale of 1 to Devin Hester. A tip of the helmet to Josh Blackwell for his all-important kick-out block on that runback. The coverage units still need a lot of work.