Bears lose eighth straight in loss to Vikings |
MINNEAPOLIS—It's almost comical how quickly this season has gone South, and in the fashion that it has, as the Chicago Bears (4-10) were once a 4-2 football team. Then came the now infamous Hail Mary against the Washington Commanders, which not only handed the Bears a loss but also started this miserable losing streak.
That loss was followed by six more losses heading into Monday night, and several of them came with the Bears finding new ways to lose. Looking to put an end to their losing streak, the Bears headed to US Bank Stadium to take on a Minnesota Vikings (12-2) not only riding a six-game winning streak, but suddenly in a position to clinch home field if they can win out. These two teams met in Soldier Field about a month ago, and the Bears rallied from 11 points down to force OT before losing by three. Looking to return the favor this time around, the Bears shot themselves in the foot. Several first-half miscues put Chicago in a 13-point hole, which was too much to overcome, as the Vikings extended their winning streak to seven games, 30-12. You want to talk about a miserable first half? The Bears had the ball five times in the first half, four if you take away the kneel-down, and only one of those drives resulted in a punt. The other three resulted in turnovers, including the game's first possession, where the Bears went for it on fourth and short on their own side of the field only to come up empty. That essentially gifted the Vikings a field goal, and despite the defense holding up, Will Richard banged one through from 52 yards, and the Vikings never looked back. Things were starting to trend in the right direction on the Bears' next possession, as a pair of DJ Moore runs moved the chains for the Bears' first down, with D'Andre Swift coming away with another one through the air. Then came the turning point of that drive. Williams and the offense had the ball inside the Vikings' Red Zone, only for Jonathan Greenard to break through for the strip sack. Blake Cashman recovered the ball and returned it to Bears territory. Following a pair of Aaron Jones runs to move the chains, it was time for Sam Darnold to go to the air as he found Justin Jefferson for one of his seven catches and seven of his 73 yards for the TD as the Vikings led 10-0. The Bears offense continued to struggle on their next possession, which resulted in a punt, giving the ball back to Minnesota. What followed that was a lengthy 13-play Vikings drive, as they were not only moving the ball but also chewing up plenty of clock. Facing several third-and-long situations, Darnold did his part by finding Jones and Brandon Powell, both of whom came away with clutch receptions on the drive. With Jordan Addison bringing in a 16-yard completion on the sideline, the Vikings were looking for the knockout blow as Darnold had Jefferson inside the five only to have the veteran drop a rare pass. That proved costly in the end as the Vikings not only didn't score, but they watched Darnold throw his first interception in a month with Tyrique Stevenson coming down with the pick. Hoping that the interception would start to change the momentum, Chicago was forced to punt, but after Trent Sherfield ran into Tory Taylor on the play, the Bears were gifted a first down, and the drive continued. Several solid runs from Swift later, and the Bears offense finally had some momentum before Williams hooked up Cole Kmet for 14 of his 193 yards passing. Another solid gain to Moore set the offense up with a fourth and short, but instead of kicking the field goal to pull within seven, Thomas Brown went for it on Fourth again, and the Vikings came up with a massive stop. That was the theme most of the night, as the Bears were just 2-15 on third and fourth down opportunities, and the Vikings used another short field to go up 13-0 at the half. Despite all the bad that happened in the first half, the Bears had to consider themselves fortunate, as their defense did its best to keep things close. That continued to be the case early in the second half, as the Vikings offense struggled to move the ball out of the half, resulting in a pair of Ryan Wright punts. It took the Bears offense more than two quarters to start pushing the ball downfield. After Williams found Rome Odunze for 29 yards, Chicago was set up on the Vikings side of the field, looking to strike. Two plays later, the Bears were inside the Vikings one, with Swift breaking through for some nice yardage. He then finished the drive off with a TD. Or so he thought, as a penalty was called on Chicago, nullifying the TD and resulting in one of the two Santos Field Goals. That can't happen when you're trying to upset a team like Minnesota, which responded from what could've been a worse defensive series by going right down the field on their next possession. All it took for the Vikings' offense to get rolling again was a few short passes to TJ Hockenson and Josh Oliver, which opened things up for Aaron Jones and the running game. Jones finished the day with 86 yards on 18 carries, including his 50th career rushing TD to cap off the drive and extend the Vikings' lead to 20-3. This was when the Bears offense started to get into more of a rhythm, but some of that had to do with the Vikings defense starting to play soft, as another Santos field goal made this a 20-6 game. In desperate need of a stop, the Bears defense was starting to show signs of fatigue, and with Darnold finding Jefferson for 21 yards, the Vikings offense was approaching Bears territory yet again. Once again, the Bears defense began to tighten up on the Vikings offense, forcing a third and long, only to have Darnold's second interception go to waste on a defensive pass interference call in the end Zone. Unlike the Bears, who couldn't capitalize on their chances, the Vikings did, with Cam Akers picking up his first rushing TD of the season to make this a 27-6 game. Chicago did manage to provide a spark late in the fourth quarter, as a blocked punt inside the Vikings' 35 helped set things off for the Bears to make one last push. Williams took care of the rest by completing two passes for 27 yards as Keenan Allen was responsible for both receptions, including his 16-yard TD to make this a 27-12 game. For Williams, that makes nearly 300 passes without an INT, but with the two-point try failing, the Bears still trailed by 15 and an onside kick coming up. Unlike the last time, when the Bears recovered the kick, leading to the game-tying field goal, Minnesota was ready, as Oliver came away with the recovery. That was ultimately the beginning of the end for the Bears, as the Vikings offense did just enough to get into field goal range before Richard banged home his third attempt of the game to give the Vikings the 30-12 win. “It’s been frustrating and encouraging.” “You’ve gotta take care of your own sh*t … and if other people aren’t doing their job, that’s on them.” “The overall feeling is we lost, and I didn’t play well … I just wish I took advantage of the opportunity better.” “I put that on myself.”
Caleb Williams assesses his rookie season. pic.twitter.com/IdnuIKuvrN
Cole Kmet on the Bears’ lack of execution. pic.twitter.com/S46AV3Twg5
Kiran Amegadjie on his first NFL start. pic.twitter.com/4FN7mWERxG
Thomas Brown on the touchdown that was called back due to Doug Kramer not reporting. pic.twitter.com/pZh4Jx3GKa
