Aaron Jones and Cam Akers had second-half touchdown runs to complement an underwhelming performance from the Minnesota defense, and the Vikings moved into a tie for first place in the NFC North on Monday night by beating the Chicago Bears for the seventh time defeated 30-12 in a row.

Justin Jefferson had seven catches for 73 yards, including a first-quarter touchdown by Sam Darnold that was set up by Jonathan Greenard’s sack and forced fumble on Caleb Williams.

Williams managed to maintain his NFL rookie-record streak of 286 consecutive passes without an interception for the eighth straight game, but the Bears (4-10) lost them all. The first overall pick in the 2024 draft went 18 for 31 for 191 yards and threw a late touchdown pass to Keenan Allen after a blocked punt gave the Bears the ball at the Minnesota 27.

The Bears went 1 for 12 on third down and 1 for 3 on fourth down.

Darnold went 24 for 40 for 231 yards and threw his first interception in five games for the Vikings (12-2), who clinched a playoff spot with Seattle’s loss to Green Bay the night before. They have their sights firmly set on the division title after Detroit’s 11-game winning streak was halted by Buffalo on Sunday.

The Vikings wore white helmets in addition to snow-white jerseys and pants for the first time in franchise history at their now-annual winter home game — played comfortably indoors — and had an energized crowd behind them after former wide receivers Cris Carter and Jake Reed took a Randy Moss jersey to midfield to toss the coin in honor of her former teammate, who is being treated for cancer. Jefferson shouted, “We love you, Randy!” after his touchdown catch.

D’Andre Swift ran 19 times for 79 yards for the Bears, who have been outscored 53-0 in the first half in their last three games. According to Sportradar, they are the first team with three straight scoreless first periods since Jacksonville in 2018.

The Bears are reeling not only because of their losing streak, but also because of their 2-6 record in games decided by a touchdown or less. The firings of offensive coordinator Shane Waldron and eventual coach Matt Eberflus last month also led to a change in playmakers on both sides of the ball.

Once again, the Bears produced a handful of impossible plays that ultimately doomed them. Swift was stuffed for no gain when he ran a fourth-and-1 from the Chicago 39 on the first possession and again scored a fourth-and-1 at the Minnesota 29 in the second quarter.

In the third quarter, Swift had a short touchdown run that was negated by a penalty when backup center Doug Kramer failed to report as an eligible receiver despite entering the game as an extra blocker at the goal line.

Afterwards, rookie Kiran Amegadjie, who received three penalties in his first NFL start and was badly beaten by Greenard on the strip sack, was called for a stop. The Bears settled for a short field goal.