CHICAGO — Each time the Soldier Field clock malfunctioned Sunday, it showed there was less than a minute remaining, speeding uncontrollably to 0:00.

It was as if the clock was trying to say: “Let’s hurry up and end this thing to make sure the Bears get out of here with a win.”

Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer said “the Soldier Field clocks are bulls***,” which is putting it kindly. It’s hard enough to put together a successful two-minute drill down eight points when the clocks are working. But without a functioning clock in the building and the referees announcing the time after every down?

Yeah, that’s bulls***.

But with a three-game losing streak and chaos throughout the organization, the Bears needed all the help they could get Sunday.

Clocks or no clocks. They just needed a win. Badly.

“Really, really badly,”Kyle Long said.

But if you think the Bears’ massive list of problems will suddenly disappear after Sunday’s 21-13 win over the Vikings, you must have watched a different game.

The defense continuing a Vikings’ drive by jumping offsides? Check.

The offense committing a pre-snap penalty within the well-rehearsed “First-15” plays? Check.

The Bears’ special teams unit littering the field with yellow flags and allowing a big play that directly led to points (this time a successful fake punt by the Vikings)? Check.

Awful clock management by the head coach before halftime? Check.

Jay Cutler having a pass sail high and into the arms of an opposing defensive back because of poor mechanics? Bingo!

Now, do the Bears deserve credit for holding the Vikings to 243 total yards, the lowest total they’ve allowed all season? Absolutely. But you can’t do so without also mentioning that they were playing an Adrian Peterson-less team with a rookie quarterback who looked way too much like Christian Ponder. Teddy Bridgewater looked flustered, hurt, and frankly, not that good. Were the Bears doing things to make him look that way? Sometimes. Other times, it was just a rookie quarterback making a defense look better than it really is.

Does Jay Cutler deserve credit for completing 31-of-43 passes for 330 yards and three touchdowns? Absolutely. But you can’t do so without also pointing out that the Vikings inexplicably left Bears receivers in 1-on-1 matchups for most of the game. Did Zimmer watch any tape on this team? Zone defenses have essentially eliminated Brandon Marshall and Alshon Jeffery from many games this season, but the Vikings consistently chose to leave 5-10 cornerback Josh Robinson on an island, leading to a 27-yard touchdown to Jeffery, a 44-yard touchdown to Marshall, an easy 4-yard touchdown to Marshall and another deep completion of 34 yards to Jeffery. Those four plays alone accounted for all of the Bears’ points Sunday and a third of Cutler’s total passing yards.

“That’s something they’ve done all season,” Jeffery said when asked about the amount of man-coverage the Bears saw. “They stuck with their game plan and we stuck with ours.”

It’s true that the Vikings have had success with that style of defense this season. They came to Soldier Field ranked fourth against the pass this season, allowing just 213.6 passing yards per game. But you also need to adapt to your opponents and the Bears caught a break with the Vikings’ defensive stubbornness Sunday.

Asked after the game what he would have done differently against the Bears’ much taller receivers, Zimmer said: “I would have changed up some coverages.”

Well, Mike, you had all game to do so, but Marc Trestman thanks you for leaving his receivers in favorable matchups. He needed that.

And speaking of Trestman, it’s a good sign that his players didn’t quit when they fell behind 10-0 in the first quarter. However, it’s also not good when that has to be pointed out.

“You can only get beat up so many times before you fight back,” Jared Allen said.

No one is questioning the Bears’ effort Sunday. It was there, led by Allen who was credited with five tackles, a sack, a TFL and three quarterback hurries against his former team.

But is effort going to fix all the mental errors that will stick out on the coaches’ film this week?

Those have to be cleaned up in a hurry, because there’s a familiar head coach coming to town next week whose team will take advantage of those mistakes. The Buccaneers might be 2-8, but they are coming off a 27-7 road win against Washington and you know they’ll be playing hard for Lovie Smith, who would love to come to Soldier Field and beat the team that fired him.

The question is, will the Bears play as hard for Trestman as the Bucs will for Lovie? Because for Trestman and general manager Phil Emery, next week’s game against the Bucs is the biggest of the season.

And you know Lovie’s Tampa-2 defense won’t leave Trestman’s receivers in many 1-on-1 situations.

“I told the guys, we are going to appreciate the win, but we have a lot of work to do,” Trestman said. “We’ll get back to work tomorrow, and on to Tampa.”

Less appreciation for Sunday’s unimpressive win and more work on Tampa would probably be a good idea. Trestman’s and Emery’s jobs might be depending on it.

Adam Hoge covers the Bears for 87.7 The Game and TheGameChicago.com. Follow him on Twitter at @AdamHoge.