BEARS WIN! Chicago Bears beat the Minnesota Vikings 12-10
A defensive thriller, the Chicago Bears topped the Minnesota Vikings in a division rivalry game that went down to the wire. A somewhat ugly game, both teams combined for six turnovers and the score was only 3-3 at halftime. However, both the offense and defense came through huge for the Bears on Monday Night Football. Special teams was a big factor as well, with kicker Cairo Santos nailing 4/5 field goals on the night, including the big game winner.
Quarterback Justin Fields continued his impressive play, throwing for 217 yards while adding 59 rushing yards. The offense struggled all game and failed to score a touchdown, but this was obviously the fault of the play-caller, offensive coordinator Luke Getsy. Getsy continually ran an overwhelming amount of screen plays, leading to frustrating and empty drives. Despite this, Fields led the team on a game winning drive late in the fourth quarter, completing a long pass to wide receiver DJ Moore to set up the game winning field goal. DJ Moore also had a great game, hauling in 11 receptions for 114 yards. That final drive was fantastic, which furthers the argument to reduce the amount of screens called and allow Fields to throw downfield more often.
The defensive side of the ball put together an absolute masterpiece tonight, causing absolute havoc against the Vikings offense. They picked off Vikings quarterback Josh Dobbs FOUR times, absolutely smothering the opposing players. Defensive end Montez Sweat ended with 1.5 sacks, while safety Jaquan Brisker added 0.5 sacks to go along with an interception. Linebacker T.J. Edwards and cornerbacks Jaylon Johnson and Kyler Gordon also ended with an interception, but the whole defense rallied to the ball quickly and created stops all game. Rookie cornerback Terell Smith looked fantastic, breaking up passes and leading the team in tackles while linebacker Tremaine Edmunds was his usual dominant presence.
Overall, a fantastic game from the Bears, specifically the defense. Keeping the team in the game time and time again, the Bears offensive play-calling needs to improve. Fields has proven more than capable of throwing the ball 15+ yards and is one of the best running quarterbacks in the league. If the defense always plays like they did tonight and the play-calling on offense improves, the Bears could be scary down the road.
