The Vikings won Sunday's coin toss, deferred and then watched as a rabid Audie Cole launched an early campaign for a starting linebacker position in 2015.

Chicago's first drive lasted seven snaps. Cole, in his first start of the season, made tackles on five of them.

"It's not a surprise to us," said linebacker Chad Greenway, whose injured knee sidelined him and allowed Cole to step in at weakside linebacker in the season-ending 13-9 victory over the Chicago Bears at TCF Bank Stadium. "Look at what he did last year when he got an opportunity."

On Nov. 24, 2013, Cole made his NFL starting debut at middle linebacker at Green Bay. He opened the game with a sack en route to 18 tackles.

That didn't translate into a full-time starting job at middle linebacker. The coaching staff changed and the Vikings brought in Jasper Brinkley from Arizona.

Sunday's performance, however, could go a long way at a point when the Vikings will have a difficult decision to make on Greenway, who will be 32 next season. Zimmer sure sounded like Cole's game-high 14 tackles (11 solo, one for loss) won't be forgotten anytime soon when he was asked if he learned anything about Cole on Sunday.

Cole

"Yeah, I probably did," Zimmer said. "He really was playing out of position. He was playing the Will [weakside] linebacker; we didn't want to move [Gerald] Hodges, who is probably really a Will."

The Vikings had only three healthy linebackers on the active roster until placing Anthony Barr on injured reserve and promoting Josh Kaddu from the practice squad on Saturday. Cole then bailed the team out by playing in all the sub packages and making all the calls and checks as the linebacker wearing the radio helmet that receives instructions from the sideline.

"He wasn't mistake-free," Zimmer said. "But his heart was big."

Cole played a significant role as the Vikings held an opponent without a touchdown for the first time since the season opener. A week after Miami's running backs caught 10 passes for 172 yards in a 37-35 win over the Vikings, Cole helped contain Bears running back Matt Forte, who had only 23 yards on eight catches.

"We knew going in he had the most catches on their team and was a dangerous receiver," said Cole, who made one diving pass defense on third down while covering Forte. "We had to stop him and I think we did pretty much."

The Bears had scoring drives of 42, 18 and two yards. On the two-yard drive, the Bears settled for a field goal after an interception gave them first-and-goal at the 9-yard line. Cole tackled linebacker Martellus Bennett for no gain on second down.

"I want to make every tackle," Cole said. "I want 30 every game. … When you get your opportunity, you got to take it. You can't just sit there."

Meanwhile, a couple of lockers away, Greenway was talking about a future that might not include the team he has played for since 2006. Despite missing 4½ games due to injuries this season, Greenway still came within five tackles of leading the team in tackles for a seventh consecutive year. He shares the team record of six straight with former linebacker Scott Studwell.

Greenway is set to make $7 million next season. The team won't allow that, but Greenway said he'd work with the team financially if it wants him back.

"I don't have much of a sense [about next year] at this point," Greenway said. "I do know there will be opportunities if there are none here. But I'm a loyal guy and I want to finish as a Viking."