Well, it was fun while it lasted. For the last two weeks, the Chicago Bears had their offense running like a fine-tuned engine. The ball moved down the field and it found the end zone consistently. Then, playing one of the weakest defenses in the NFL, everything reverted back to the struggling, inept offense we have seen for years. The Bears fell in frustrating fashion, 19-13.
Minnesota came in with one of the top offenses in the league. Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins led the league in touchdowns. Bears quarterback Justin Fields came in scorching hot. He had 617 passing yards and 8 touchdowns in the last two games.
With both the Bears and Vikings having less-than-stellar defenses and struggling against the pass, this was billed as a shootout. Instead, we got a defensive battle. The Vikings overwhelmed Chicago's offensive line and were all over Fields. In fact, he hurt his right hand and left the game in the third quarter. Rookie Tyson Bagent came in relief and things were the same.
The Bears' defense, for its part, also came through. The defense had its best game of the year and arguably the best game in head coach Matt Eberflus' tenure as head coach. They pressured Cousins, forced turnovers, and made the Vikings work for every yard they got.
The Chicago Bears' inability to move the ball consistently had all the earmarks of their previous struggles -- too many three-and-outs, too many screens and flare passes, and not enough trust. The result was another frustrating loss.
Offensive coordinator Luke Getsy saw how the pressure was getting to the offensive line. Instead of adjusting to the pressure, Getsy went back to his conservative ways. He went back to calling the majority of the passes behind the line of scrimmage. That, of course, resulted in a lot of long-yardage situations.
The lack of ball movement affected DJ Moore, the reigning NFC Offensive Player of the Week. He had 8 catches for 230 yards and 3 touchdowns. On Sunday, he had just 5 catches for 51 yards. That still led all Bears receivers (Darnell Mooney had 48 yards on 2 catches).
Now there is a concern about Fields' health. He suffered a thumb dislocation on his throwing hand. He popped it back in but was unable to grip the ball. The X-rays were negative but they will run an MRI on Monday to see the severity of the injury.
Let's take a look at the studs and duds of the Chicago Bears' loss to the Vikings