Vikings wrap up NFC's No. 2 seed with 23-10 win over Bears

Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Stefon Diggs cradles his touchdown catch as Chicago Bears cornerback Marcus Cooper tries to break up the pass in the third quarter of a NFL Football game at U.S. Bank stadium on Sunday, Dec. 31, 2017. The Vikings beat Chicago, 23-10 to finish the season 13-3 and earn a first round bye in the playoffs. (Pioneer Press / John Autey)
Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Stefon Diggs performs a mic drop with the football after a big gain and first down against the Chicago Bears in the first quarter of a NFL Football game on Sunday, Dec. 31, 2017. (Pioneer Press / John Autey)
Minnesota Vikings outside linebacker Anthony Barr celebrates his third down stop against Chicago Bears in the first quarter of a NFL Football game on Sunday, Dec. 31, 2017. (Pioneer Press / John Autey)
Minnesota Vikings outside linebacker Anthony Barr stops Chicago Bears running back Jordan Howard for a loss of yards in the first quarter of a NFL Football game on Sunday, Dec. 31, 2017. (Pioneer Press / John Autey)
Steam rises from fans waiting to get into the US Bank Stadium before the start of a Vikings game against Chicago of a NFL Football game at U.S. Bank Stadium on Sunday, Dec. 31, 2017. (Pioneer Press / John Autey)
Tanya Holthus from St. Louis Park tries to stay warm as she tail gates with friends before the Vikings game against the Chicago Bears at U.S. Bank stadium on Sunday, Dec. 31, 2017. The Vikings beat Chicago, 23-10 to finish the season 13-3 and earn a first round bye in the playoffs. (Pioneer Press / John Autey)
Minnesota Vikings outside linebacker Anthony Barr celebrates his safety against the Chicago Bears in the second quarter of a NFL Football game on Sunday, Dec. 31, 2017. (Pioneer Press / John Autey)
Minnesota Vikings defensive end Danielle Hunter stops Chicago Bears running back Jordan Howard for a loss of yards in the second quarter of a NFL Football game on Sunday, Dec. 31, 2017. (Pioneer Press / John Autey)
Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Adam Thielen tries to shake Chicago Bears cornerback Kyle Fuller after a catch in the second quarter of a NFL Football game on Sunday, Dec. 31, 2017. (Pioneer Press / John Autey)
Minnesota Vikings running back Jerick McKinnon looks for some daylight as he rushes against the Chicago Bears in the second quarter of a NFL Football game on Sunday, Dec. 31, 2017.(Pioneer Press / John Autey)
Minnesota Vikings defensive end Danielle Hunter gets a hand up as Chicago Bears quarterback Mitchell Trubisky passes the ball in the first quarter of a NFL Football game on Sunday, Dec. 31, 2017. (Pioneer Press / John Autey)
Minnesota Vikings defensive end Everson Griffen reaches out to pull down a scrambling Chicago Bears quarterback Mitch Trubisky in the third quarter of a NFL Football game at U.S. Bank stadium on Sunday, Dec. 31, 2017. (Pioneer Press / John Autey)
Minnesota Vikings defensive end Everson Griffen chases down Chicago Bears quarterback Mitch Trubisky in the third quarter of a NFL Football game at U.S. Bank stadium on Sunday, Dec. 31, 2017. The Vikings beat Chicago, 23-10 to finish the season 13-3 and earn a first round bye in the playoffs. (Pioneer Press / John Autey)
Minnesota Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer keeps his eyes on his team from the sidelines against the Chicago Bears in the third quarter of a NFL Football game at U.S. Bank stadium on Sunday, Dec. 31, 2017. T(Pioneer Press / John Autey)
Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Stefon Diggs looks for the call after catching a touchdown against the Chicago Bears in the third quarter of a NFL Football game at U.S. Bank stadium on Sunday, Dec. 31, 2017. The Vikings beat Chicago, 23-10 to finish the season 13-3 and earn a first round bye in the playoffs. (Pioneer Press / John Autey)
Fans perform the 'Skol' chant against the Chicago Bears in the third quarter of a NFL Football game at U.S. Bank stadium on Sunday, Dec. 31, 2017.(Pioneer Press / John Autey)
Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator George Edwards on the sidelines against the Chicago Bears in the third quarter of a NFL Football game at U.S. Bank stadium on Sunday, Dec. 31, 2017. The Vikings beat Chicago, 23-10 to finish the season 13-3 and earn a first round bye in the playoffs. (Pioneer Press / John Autey)
Minnesota Vikings free safety Harrison Smith (22), linebackers Anthony Barr (55) and linebacker Eric Kendricks combine to stop Chicago Bears wide receiver Kendall Wright after a short reception in the third quarter of a NFL Football game at U.S. Bank stadium on Sunday, Dec. 31, 2017. (Pioneer Press / John Autey)
Minnesota Vikings defensive end Brian Robison brings down Chicago Bears quarterback Mitch Trubisky in the third quarter of a NFL Football game at U.S. Bank stadium on Sunday, Dec. 31, 2017. (Pioneer Press / John Autey)
Minnesota Vikings defensive end Brian Robison celebrates his sack of Chicago Bears quarterback Mitch Trubisky in the third quarter of a NFL Football game at U.S. Bank stadium on Sunday, Dec. 31, 2017. (Pioneer Press / John Autey)
Chicago Bears wide receiver Josh Bellamy gets Minnesota Vikings outside linebacker Ben Gedeon (42) and Minnesota Vikings strong safety Andrew Sendejo (34) to miss him as he heads up field after a catch in the fourth quarter of a NFL Football game at U.S. Bank stadium on Sunday, Dec. 31, 2017. The Vikings beat Chicago, 23-10 to finish the season 13-3 and earn a first round bye in the playoffs. (Pioneer Press / John Autey)
Minnesota Vikings cornerback Xavier Rhodes strikes a pose after breaking up a Chicago Bears pass along the sideline in the fourth quarter of a NFL Football game at U.S. Bank stadium on Sunday, Dec. 31, 2017. The Vikings beat Chicago, 23-10 to finish the season 13-3 and earn a first round bye in the playoffs. (Pioneer Press / John Autey)
A Minnesota Vikings celebrates the Vikings and the New Years from the stands in the fourth quarter of a NFL Football game at U.S. Bank stadium on Sunday, Dec. 31, 2017. The Vikings beat Chicago, 23-10 to finish the season 13-3 and earn a first round bye in the playoffs. (Pioneer Press / John Autey)
Minnesota Vikings offensive line in action against the Chicago Bears in the fourth quarter of a NFL Football game at U.S. Bank stadium on Sunday, Dec. 31, 2017. The Vikings beat Chicago, 23-10 to finish the season 13-3 and earn a first round bye in the playoffs. (Pioneer Press / John Autey)
Minnesota Vikings quarterback Case Keenum (7) watches the defense take on the Chicago Bears from the sidelines in the fourth quarter of a NFL Football game at U.S. Bank stadium on Sunday, Dec. 31, 2017. The Vikings beat Chicago, 23-10 to finish the season 13-3 and earn a first round bye in the playoffs. (Pioneer Press / John Autey)
Minnesota Vikings free safety Harrison Smith celebrates a goal line stop forcing the Chicago Bears to turn the ball over on downs in the fourth quarter of a NFL Football game at U.S. Bank stadium on Sunday, Dec. 31, 2017. The Vikings beat Chicago, 23-10 to finish the season 13-3 and earn a first round bye in the playoffs. (Pioneer Press / John Autey)
Minnesota Vikings quarterback Case Keenum makes a pass against the Chicago Bears in the fourth quarter of a NFL Football game at U.S. Bank stadium on Sunday, Dec. 31, 2017. The Vikings beat Chicago, 23-10 to finish the season 13-3 and earn a first round bye in the playoffs. (Pioneer Press / John Autey)
Minnesota Vikings quarterback Teddy Bridgewater watches the fame on the video board as the Vikings take on the Chicago Bears in the fourth quarter of a NFL Football game at U.S. Bank stadium on Sunday, Dec. 31, 2017. The Vikings beat Chicago, 23-10 to finish the season 13-3 and earn a first round bye in the playoffs. (Pioneer Press / John Autey)
Minnesota Vikings outside linebacker Anthony Barr pulls Chicago Bears running back Benny Cunningham out of bounds in the fourth quarter of a NFL Football game at U.S. Bank stadium on Sunday, Dec. 31, 2017. The Vikings beat Chicago, 23-10 to finish the season 13-3 and earn a first round bye in the playoffs. (Pioneer Press / John Autey)
Minnesota Vikings defensive end Everson Griffen deflects a pass from Chicago Bears quarterback MitchTrubisky in the fourth quarter of a NFL Football game at U.S. Bank stadium on Sunday, Dec. 31, 2017. The Vikings beat Chicago, 23-10 to finish the season 13-3 and earn a first round bye in the playoffs. (Pioneer Press / John Autey)
Minnesota Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer, right, shakes hands with Chicago Bears head coach John Fox after the game at U.S. Bank stadium on Sunday, Dec. 31, 2017. The Vikings beat Chicago, 23-10 to finish the season 13-3 and earn a first round bye in the playoffs. (Pioneer Press / John Autey)
Minnesota Vikings quarterback Case Keenum celebrates the Vikings victory over the Chicago Bears as he leaves the field after the game at U.S. Bank stadium on Sunday, Dec. 31, 2017. The Vikings beat Chicago, 23-10 to finish the season 13-3 and earn a first round bye in the playoffs. (Pioneer Press / John Autey)

In a pep talk Saturday night, Vikings coach Mike Zimmer pulled out some trivia.

Zimmer told his players that the last five NFC teams to advance to the Super Bowl all started with a first-round playoff bye.

Minnesota is hoping to be the sixth. The Vikings locked up the No. 2 seed in the NFC with a 23-10 victory over the Chicago Bears in Sunday’s regular-season finale at U.S. Bank Stadium, assuring they will have next weekend off before playing their first postseason game Jan. 13 or 14 on their home field.

“Ultimately, we have only two games until we get to the Super Bowl,” defensive tackle Tom Johnson said. “It’s all positive.”

As it turned out, even if the Vikings had lost to the Bears, they would have ended up with the No. 2 seed. Still, Zimmer wanted to make sure his team went into the playoffs on a winning note.

“I’m proud of this team,” he said. “Thirteen wins is hard to get.”

The Vikings (13-3) finished with their best record since they went 15-1 in 1998, and the 13 wins are the second-most in franchise history. They also earned a first-round playoff bye for the first time since the 2009 team was 12-4.

The only player remaining from the 2009 team is defensive end Brian Robison, who said it was “very important” to get the bye.

“You play 17 weeks in the NFL, guys are going to get banged up, they’re going to be sore, guys are going to be tired,” Robison said. “To be able to get that week off is huge, but at the same time you have to make sure that your focus stays in the right place.”

The Vikings suffered heartbreaking, last-second losses in the NFC championship game in 1998 and 2009. Which led to a reporter asking Zimmer after the game if he the franchise was cursed.

“I’ve got a crystal ball and I’ve got a wood spirit hanging in my office, so there’s no damn curse,” he said.

For good measure, he also has the most dominant defense in the NFL. The Vikings finished No. 1 in the NFL in scoring defense (15.8 points per game) and total defense (275.9 yards per game) for the first time since 1970 and just the third time in team history.

“That’s huge,” Johnson said. “That’s one of the goals we had coming into the season is we wanted to be the best defense.”

Minnesota’s defense certainly showed up Sunday. The Vikings held the Bears (5-11) to 201 yards total offense and had two goal-line stands in the fourth quarter.

Leading 23-7, the Vikings stopped the Bears after they had first-and-goal at the 6 early in the fourth quarter. Leading 23-10, they rose up again after Chicago had first-and-goal at the 2 with 3:53 left.

“I thought we played exceptionally well on defense,” Zimmer said.

The offense wasn’t so exceptional but did enough to get the win. Quarterback Case Keenum completed 21 of 29 passes for 189 yards and a touchdown, and Latavius Murray ran for 111 yards and two TDs on 20 carries.

Murray had 1-yard touchdown runs early in the first quarter and early in the second quarter to put the Vikings up 14-0.

The Bears got a 59-yard punt return for a touchdown by Bryce Callahan in the second quarter to cut the deficit to 14-7. Then Chicago quarterback Mitchell Trubisky was called for intentionally grounding in the end zone late in the quarter for a safety that made the score 16-7 at halftime.

Late in the third quarter, Keenum threw a 15-yard touchdown pass to Stefon Diggs for a 23-7 lead. Diggs clicked his heels together three times to celebrate. He was asked after the game if that had anything to do with the “The Wizard of Oz” theme of there being no place like home.

“You’re a smart one,” Diggs said. “I don’t got no red shoes, but I’ve got purple ones.”

The Vikings are hoping to stay at home throughout a playoff run. That would require No. 1 seed Philadelphia (13-3), which has been reeling of late, to lose in the divisional playoff round. Regardless, Super Bowl LII is Feb. 4 at U.S. Bank Stadium.

One Vikings player who knows about the Super Bowl is nose tackle Linval Joseph, who won a ring with the New York Giants in February 2012. The only player on the team to have played in a Super Bowl, Joseph was asked if there’s any advice he will dispense for the playoffs.

“Just don’t take it for granted and just enjoy this opportunity,” he said. “That’s what I tell them.”

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