2002 · Week 1 · Division

Final

Vikings

Minnesota

QB Daunte Culpepper

23·27

Bears

Chicago

QB Jim Miller

Memorial Stadium (Champaign) · outdoors · astroplay · 85°F · wind 3mph

Closing spread

CHI -4.5

Total

41

Model margin

+0.6est.

CHI perspective

Push chance

None

half-point line — cannot push

Win probability

  • Bears
  • Vikings

How each play moved the game.

Bears winsVikings wins

Matchup

Where the edges are

Season-long league percentiles for both sides, mirrored. The saturated side of a lopsided row holds the edge.

Vikingsedge mapBears
  • +0.060EPA / play-0.129
  • 45.1%Success rate40.0%
  • +0.054EPA / dropback-0.089
  • +0.071EPA / rush-0.197
  • 9.3%Explosive rate7.5%
  • 43.6%Third-down rate33.7%
  • 58.3%Red-zone TD rate64.5%
  • 1.93Points / drive1.35
  • 3.4%Turnover rate3.2%
  • +0.082EPA / play allowed-0.001

Bar length is league percentile, already oriented so longer is better. The saturated side of a lopsided row holds the edge; rows within ~12 points are washed as even.

The rivalry

MIN lead 29–26 since 1999

Meetings average 41.3 points. CHI are 30-24-1 ATS in the series.

Previous meetings
SeasonMatchupScoreWinner
2026 · W2MIN @ CHI9–3MIN
2025 · W11CHI @ MIN19–17CHI
2025 · W1MIN @ CHI27–24MIN
2024 · W15CHI @ MIN12–30MIN
2024 · W12MIN @ CHI30–27MIN
2023 · W12CHI @ MIN12–10CHI
2023 · W6MIN @ CHI19–13MIN
2022 · W18MIN @ CHI29–13MIN

Possession by possession

How it unfolded

Every drive: who had the ball, how far it went, how it ended, and the score as it settled.

Drive-by-drive log
BallStartPlaysYardsResultMIN–CHI
MINQ1 15:00527Punt0–0
CHIQ1 11:4239Punt0–0
MINQ1 9:33754Field goal3–0
CHIQ1 6:15433Punt3–0
MINQ1 4:3041Punt3–0
CHIQ1 2:34329Touchdown3–7
MINQ1 1:03783Touchdown10–7
CHIQ2 13:32929Field goal10–10
MINQ2 9:191174Field goal13–10
CHIQ2 3:3038Punt13–10
MINQ2 1:5436Punt13–10
CHIQ2 1:0710Turnover19–10
MINQ2 1:01133Touchdown20–10
CHIQ2 0:55410Turnover20–10
MINQ2 0:171-2End of half20–10
CHIQ3 15:00939Field goal20–13
MINQ3 10:281032Turnover20–13
CHIQ3 5:211283Missed field goal20–13
MINQ4 13:31843Field goal23–13
CHIQ4 9:07578Touchdown23–20
MINQ4 6:13723Turnover23–20
CHIQ4 2:34851Touchdown23–27
MINQ4 0:282-6Turnover23–27
CHIQ4 0:091-1End of half23–27

Box score

Individual performances

Vikings

Passing

PlayerC/AttYdsTDINT
Daunte Culpepper16/2823412

Rushing

PlayerCarYdsAvgTD
Michael Bennett16533.30
Moe Williams7486.90
Doug Chapman5336.60
Daunte Culpepper561.21

Bears

Passing

PlayerC/AttYdsTDINT
Jim Miller20/3329721

Rushing

PlayerCarYdsAvgTD
Anthony Thomas19452.41
Leon Johnson4317.80
Jim Miller341.30

Receiving

PlayerRecTgtYdsTD
Marty Booker8121981
Dez White48460
Anthony Thomas45220
John Davis11100
Marcus Robinson13100
David Terrell1191
Leon Johnson1120
Fred Baxter0100

Where this game is likely to land

  • Model
  • Smooth (normal)
  • Betting line

Probability of each final margin. Football scoring clusters — the spikes at 3 and 7 are real, and a smooth model misses them.

line +4.52.6%4.3%2.9%7.3%7.4%3.0%4.5%2.8%

Positive margins favour Bears; negative favour Vikings.

Half-point at risk

1.88%

outcomes that flip if the line moves 0.5

Model home win

50.7%

Expected total

45.1est.

Model

Where the number comes from

Each component is additive, in points of expected margin.

  • Team ratings (opponent-adjusted EPA)-1.96
  • Home-field advantage+2.56
  • Quarterback adjustment0.00
  • Rest differential0.00
  • Expected margin+0.61