MINNEAPOLIS — Another week, another clutch win by the Bears, who squeaked out a 19-17 decision over the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday.

The Bears should have dominated this game and won by multiple scores, but they struggled to score touchdowns and kept the Vikings in it through the very end. They couldn’t put away their opponent despite struggling quarterback J.J. McCarthy providing several opportunities to do so.

The Bears lost a late lead, just as they did in a Week 1 loss to these Vikings, but they overcame in the biggest moment, with Cairo Santos’ game-winning field goal as time expired.

Bears head coach Ben Johnson told his players in the postgame locker room that “we have got so much to tighten up,” and he’s right.

The Bears aren’t playing playoff-worthy football right now, but they are finding ways to win. That’s what matters most, but this Bears report card isn’t one they’ll hang on the fridge.

Let’s see how they graded out in this victory:

Rushing offense

The run game wasn’t its usual efficient self, but it still found ways to produce. The Bears ran 39 times for 140 yards and one touchdown.

You read that right: The Bears ran 39 freakin’ times.

D’Andre Swift had 90 yards on 21 carries, and Kyle Monangai was far less efficient, with just 23 yards on 12 carries, though he did have the one TD.

The run game be a closing element in NFL games, but it stalled too often at key moments late in this game and was part of the reason why the Vikings could mount a fleeting comeback.

Grade: B

[READ: Bears 19, Vikings 17: Three observations in Chicago’s NFL Week 11 win]

Passing offense

Johnson has said several times this season that he’d like Caleb Williams to hit a 70 percent completion rate. He was at 50 percent Sunday. That’s not the completion volume this offense needs to be successful.

That’s on Williams, who rarely looked comfortable playing within structure and going through his progressions. He had some important connections with tight ends Cole Kmet and Colston Loveland, but wide receivers DJ Moore and Rome Odunze never got in the flow. Williams avoided making any major gaffes, though, which is key to the Bears’ formula of winning by turnover margin.

Grade: C

Rushing defense

The Vikings averaged 5.2 yards on 22 carries, which doesn’t meet the Bears’ standard in that phase of their defense. On a day when McCarthy played poorly, they could have completely shut down Minnesota by stopping the run. That wasn’t achieved, and the run defense got a little leaky as the game progressed.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Linebacker T.J. Edwards anchors the Bears’ run defense. He’s sorely missed.

Grade: B-minus

[READ: Five Bears players whose stock went up in NFL Week 11 win over Vikings]

Passing defense

McCarthy had a passer rating in the teens through three quarters. Kevin Byard III baited the young quarterback into an interception in the second quarter. Then Nahshon Wright jumped up and snatched another in the end zone as the first half wrapped.

The Bears didn’t have much of a pass rush, though they hit McCarthy five times. The pass defense also gave up some explosive plays on the Vikings’ go-ahead TD drive, which ended with Jordan Addison’s 15-yard scoring catch. Justin Jefferson didn’t go off (five catches for 61 yards), though his QB let him down a few times, and the Bears kept point totals low.

Grade: A-minus

Special teams

This unit made a few major mistakes, including allowing a 43-yard punt return that sparked the first of two fourth-quarter Vikings touchdowns. Kicker Cairo Santos missed a fourth-quarter field-goal attempt that, if made, would have taken the drama out of this event.

But when the Bears absolutely had to have it, Devin Duvernay came through with a 56-yard kickoff return with less than a minute left to set up Santos’ winning field goal. So, while this unit made errors, the kicking game came through in the clutch.

Grade: B

Coaching

Ben Johnson is an excellent play caller and designer. He’s also human and sometimes gets it wrong. He has been frank about his mistakes and likely will be again.

Johnson dialed up some eye candy that was ineffective. He got a little run-run-pass-punt at the end of the game and had a few head scratchers. Defensive coordinator Dennis Allen fared better in confusing McCarthy but called an all-out fourth-down blitz that blew up on him.

Overall, though, Johnson, Allen and this deep staff have built a winning culture that allows the Bears to come through in the clutch. That’s all that really matters. They figured out how to win the game.

Grade: B-minus

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