Kyler Murray is set to return to the starting lineup.
Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell told reporters in his Monday press conference that Murray has cleared concussion protocol and is on schedule to play in the team’s matchup with the Buccaneers.
“Kyler has cleared the final phase of the protocol,” O’Connell said. “He’s doing great, he’ll be cleared, and he will start this week against Tampa Bay.”
Murray went down early in the Week 1 win over the Packers when he was hit while trying to slide on a scramble. He departed that contest having completed 3-of-5 passes for 18 yards with an interception.
Carson Wentz replaced Murray for the last two weeks. He was 11-of-20 for 143 yards in Sunday’s victory over the Bears. O’Connell praised how steady Wentz has been as a backup.
In five games last year for the Cardinals, Murray completed 68.3 percent of his throws for 962 yards with six touchdowns and three interceptions.
Also on the injury front, O’Connell said Ty Ingram-Dawkins (hip) is day-to-day and Brett Thorson has a hamstring issue.
Vikings Clips
Heading into the season, the Vikings were a distant fourth in the betting odds to win the NFC North. A lot can change in two weeks.
The Vikings are now 2-0, with both wins coming against division opponents, a game ahead of the Lions, Packers and Bears, and the new betting favorites to win the division.
The Vikings’ odds are +194 to win what looks to be the NFL’s most competitive division. The Lions are next at +205, followed by the Packers at +285. Last year’s NFC North winners, the Bears, not have the longest odds, at +500, amid concerns that Caleb Williams could miss extended time with a hamstring injury.
Uncertainty at quarterback in Minnesota is an issue, but the Vikings have found a way to win two weeks in a row with Carson Wentz replacing the injured Kyler Murray. The Vikings’ defense looks ferocious, and the Vikings look like a playoff team. Something few thought they’d be just a couple weeks ago.
The second Sunday of the 2026 regular season gave new meaning to the second-game experience.
As noted by Megan Armstrong of Awful Announcing, multiple viewers of the Packers-Jets and Falcons-Panthers games on Fox complained that the sound was replaced with audio from Bears-Vikings.
Armstrong’s story includes multiple tweets, including visual/audio evidence.
A PFT reader emailed the same concern.
“My husband and I were watching the Packers/Jets game on FOX today,” the reader said. “Twice, we lost the audio for our game and were listening to the Vikings/Bears game. The first time only lasted about a minute but the second time was at least 5-6 minutes. So we’re watching the Pack and listening to the Vikes.”
In nearly 25 years of doing this, audio from one game making its way into another game is a first. And hopefully it’s the last time something like that will happen.
Vikings defensive end Dallas Turner has blossomed into one of the best pass rushers in the NFL. He had two sacks on Sunday at Chicago, to go with the sack he had last week against the Packers.
The last sack came on the last play of the day, slamming the door on a potential game-winning touchdown from backup quarterback Tyson Bagent.
On the play, Turner bull rushed Bears tight end Colston Loveland, riding Loveland all the way to Bagent.
After the game, I asked Turner by phone why the Bears thought they could slow him down with a tight end. He said the attack crafted by defensive coordinator Brian Flores dictates the approach, by creating the kind of chaos that forces the offense into unfavorable matchups.
Turner said that, on several plays during the final drive, a tight end was trying to block him.
The effort was just the latest example of Turner’s arrival as an elite pass rusher. He said that his recent success is a “progressive thing,” based on the time he has spent in the Flores defense, and not the result of any specific moment where the light went on.
He turned the lights out for the Bears on Sunday, propelling the Vikings to 2-0 with an unlikely 9-3 win in Chicago — Minnesota’s seventh straight win at Soldier Field.
Carson Wentz has the Vikings off to a 2-0 start, but it appears he will be back on the bench in Week 3.
Coach Kevin O’Connell said the Vikings expect Kyler Murray to clear concussion protocol “pretty early in the week” this week.
O’Connell did not name Murray as the starter when he returns, but that is the expectation.
Murray was limited in all three practices last week but ruled out for Sunday’s game against the Bears, a 9-3 Minnesota victory.
“He’s doing great,” O’Connell said, via Kevin Seifert of ESPN. “He’s feeling well.”
On the 11th play of his debut with the Vikings, Murray was hit in the head by Packers safety Javon Bullard. Bullard was penalized but not fined for the hit.
Wentz is 23-of-39 for 276 yards and three touchdowns with no turnovers this season.
The Vikings, though, signed Murray in the offseason to compete with J.J. McCarthy, not Wentz, for the starting job. McCarthy was relegated to third-string after Murray beat him out for the starting job.
There’s more good news regarding the right hamstring injury suffered by Bears quarterback Caleb Williams on Sunday.
Via Adam Jahns of CHGO_Sports, Williams (who didn’t speak to reporters after the game) came through the locker room with media present. Per the report, Williams “was walking under his own power, no crutches or anything, maybe a slight limp.”
He’s in “good spirits,” we’re told, about attacking the recovery process.
Bears coach Ben Johnson said after the game that they will know more about the injury on Monday, when Williams has an MRI.
The Bears host the Eagles next Monday night.
Bears quarterback Caleb Williams suffered a right hamstring injury while scrambling in the fourth quarter of Sunday’s loss to the Vikings. And while he was in significant pain after it happened, we’re told that he seems to be in “good spirits” about attacking the recovery process.
It’s not the first time Williams has had a hamstring injury. In December 2022, while playing at USC, Williams injured his left hamstring at the end of a 59-yard run in the first quarter of the Pac-12 championship against Utah. (He fell to the ground nearly the same way he went down on Sunday after it happened.) Williams refused to exit and finished the game.
USC coach Lincoln Riley called the injury “pretty severe.” Williams said at the time, “You ever have an old rubber band? That’s kind of what it felt like.”
That time, Williams returned a month later (but didn’t miss a game) to face Tulane in the Cotton Bowl.
This time, Williams struggled to even walk, and he left on a cart. As coach Ben Johnson said after the game, they’ll know more about the injury on Monday, when an MRI on the injury is performed.
The 1-1 Bears face the 2-0 Eagles next Monday night.
It was an ugly Week 2 game between two divisional opponents on Sunday, as the Vikings came away with a 9-3 victory over the Bears.
But there are much bigger postgame concerns for Chicago.
Quarterback Caleb Williams went down with a hamstring injury in the fourth quarter. Williams was rolling to his left and appeared to have a lane to the end zone. But he then pulled up, sliding on his knees behind the line of scrimmage.
Williams did not put any weight on his right leg as he was assisted off the field by trainers. He was then taken to the locker room on a cart. While he initially had a towel over his head, he took it off to give a thumbs up to the crowd, obviously emotional.
The Bears announced just before the end of the game that Williams suffered a hamstring injury.
Williams was 15-of-26 for 138 yards with an interception at the time of his departure. He also rushed for 42 yards on five carries.
Backup Tyson Bagent came in to replace Williams and nearly led a comeback. But he was sacked on fourth-and-2 from Minnesota’s 12-yard line by Dallas Turner to end the game.
It was a wet contest, with rain coming down in Chicago throughout the afternoon. That likely had an effect on the offenses, with neither team able to score a touchdown.
Carson Wentz, playing for the injured Kyler Murray, was 11-of-20 for 143 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions. Justin Jefferson, who reached No. 2 on Minnesota’s all-time list in receptions, caught three passes for 55 yards. Aaron Jones finished with 105 yards on 23 carries.
On the other side, the Vikings were able to stifle the Bears’ ground game. Kyle Monangai rushed for 47 yards on 10 carries while D’Andre Swift had 45 yards on 16 carries.
On the injury front, Bears defensive back Tyrique Stevenson also suffered a hamstring injury and was not able to return.
Now at 2-0, the Vikings will again be on the road to face the Buccaneers in Week 3.
The 1-1 Bears will be at home to face the Eagles. It sure looks like they’ll have to have Bagent at quarterback.
There may be a major injury in Chicago.
Bears quarterback Caleb Williams went down with an apparent non-contact leg injury during the fourth quarter of Sunday’s matchup with the Vikings.
Williams was rolling to his left and appeared to have plenty of room to run on first-and-goal from the 6-yard line. But Williams then appeared to feel something in his right leg and went down, appearing to be in significant pain.
The grass at Soldier Field has been wet all day with the rainy conditions in Chicago.
Williams was 15-of-26 for 138 yards with an interception at the time of his departure. He also rushed for 42 yards on five carries.
While Williams was helped back to the sideline with trainers, he was taken by a cart back to the locker room. He took the towel off of his head to give a thumbs up to the crowd.
Tyson Bagent came in to replace Williams in the second-and-goal situation. While Cairo Santos had a 23-yard field goal attempt, it was blocked, keeping the score at 6-3, Vikings.
While Aaron Jones was announced as questionable to return with a knee injury, he was back on the field for the Vikings.
It was a wet and rainy first half in Chicago, as the Vikings carry a 6-3 lead into halftime.
Neither team could get much going for much of the game’s first 30 minutes. While the Vikings opened the scoring with a 35-yard field goal, and the Bears countered with a 50-yard field goal from Cairo Santos, Minnesota then couldn’t take advantage of a Caleb Williams interception and punted.
On another drive, Will Reichard hit from 49 to give Minnesota a 6-3 lead midway through the second quarter.
There was no more scoring to be had before the break.
Playing for the injured Kyler Murray, Carson Wentz is 6-of-13 for 70 yards.
Justin Jefferson has three receptions for 55 yards. He surpassed Randy Moss to become No. 2 in receptions on the all-time franchise list behind Cris Carter.
On the other side, Williams is 9-of-14 for 60 yards with a pick. He is currently the team’s leading rusher with 23 yards on two carries. D’Andre Swift has 22 yards on nine carries.
Minnesota has just five first downs, 119 yards, and is 2-of-8 on third down.
Chicago also has five first downs, 93 yards, and is 2-of-7 on third down.
Chicago will receive the second-half kickoff.
