Before the Vikings were able to mount a stunning fourth-quarter comeback on Monday night, the stage needed to be properly set for it.

It almost wasn’t.

A key moment midway through the third quarter nearly gave the Bears possession of the ball at the Minnesota 25.

Here’s what happened. Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy threw a short pass to tight end T.J. Hockenson. His knee was down. As he began to get up, Bears linebacker Noah Sewell punched the ball out before touching Hockenson.

Bears coach Ben Johnson threw a challenge flag. The replay ruling was announced during a commercial break. When the coverage resume, Joe Buck properly teed up rules analyst Russell Yurk for an explanation.

Said Buck: “In replay, the call stands. And Russell Yurk, our rules analyst — Russell, it doesn’t matt

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