With the Chicago Bears down 14 players, including their entire starting secondary, and two coordinators, everyone was expecting the Minnesota Vikings to roll over the Bears with ease.
While that wasn’t the case — thanks in large part to a dominant defensive effort — there certainly wasn’t anything to celebrate as the Bears lost in frustrating and humiliating fashion 17-9 to the Vikings, falling to 4-10 on the season and officially eliminated them from playoff contention.
It was the same old song for the Bears as self-inflicted mistakes and offensive woes doomed them in a game that they had a chance to win. Chicago committed three turnovers — all fumbles — committed nine penalties and managed just nine points on five possessions inside the red zone. Granted, six of those points came on a final-second touchdown from quarterback Justin Fields to tight end Jesper Horsted.
The fact that Chicago beat themselves wasn’t a shock. It’s what we’ve seen all season. It was that the Bears defense dominated the Vikings without their entire starting secondary. Chicago held Minnesota to 193 total yards, where quarterback Kirk Cousins mustered just 87 passing yards and receiver Justin Jefferson had just 47 receiving yards and an early score.
The Bears defensive front played a huge role in their dominance, which included two-sack outings by defensive tackle Akiem Hicks and outside linebacker Robert Quinn, who was named to the Pro Bowl as a starter.
One of the pleasant surprises in this game was the performance of sixth-round rookie cornerback Thomas Graham Jr., who shined in his NFL debut with seven tackles and three pass breakups.
Oh, and by the way, Graham has been stashed on the practice squad for 14 weeks when he could’ve been on the field alongside Jaylon Johnson. Instead, we’ve been subjected to Kindle Vildor, Artie Burns and Xavier Crawford, just another indictment on this coaching staff.
The Bears offense continues to be a miserable mess, whether that’s their red zone struggles, penalties, turnovers or the fact they mustered just three points until the final second of the game.
Quarterback Justin Fields’ stat line looked good — 26-of-39 for 285 yards and a touchdown for a 96.6 rating — but he had a rough outing against Minnesota, where ball security remains an issue after he fumbled twice, losing one.
It’s not enough for concern about Fields’ future, especially given the circumstances of this season. But he has three games left this season to try and build on his past performances this season heading into a crucial offseason.
Next up for the Bears is a trip to Seattle to battle an underperforming Seahawks team. Like this game, it’s a winnable one. But it’s hard to believe Chicago can beat Seattle if they continue to beat themselves.
[listicle id=492021]