The Chicago Bears continue to find new ways to lose football games this season and this week was no exception. It was another week of self-inflicted wounds, poor coaching decisions and poor execution that led to a Bears 30-27 overtime loss to the Minnesota Vikings.
The Bears actually scored a TD in the 1st quarter and took a 7-0 lead into the 2nd quarter. They spent most of the 1st half with the football, out-gained the Vikings 214 -164 and were +1 on the turnover battle. All of that meant nothing because the defense allowed 2 TD drives by the Vikings in less than 4 minutes combined. The special teams allowed another FG to be blocked. What was more frustrating is the Bears wasted a great 1st half from Caleb Williams who seemed to be humming and was confident handling the different Vikings blitz packages.
The 2nd half proved to be more disastrous for the Bears. The offense bogged down, the defense didn’t get enough pressure on Sam Darnold and the special teams had a terrible blunder that essentially put the game away. The Vikings recovered a punt that hit the leg of DeAndre Carter that led to a TD and what was seemingly an insurmountable lead 24-10.
Caleb Williams would lead the Bears back with a TD drive but missed a 2-pt try that some will question why they went for it there. The defense then allowed a lengthy FG drive that included a 3rd & 12 conversion with a backup QB and then a 3rd & 13 conversion. That field goal gave the Vikings a 27-16 lead. Caleb Williams went right back to work to engineer a 40-yard TD drive after DeAndre Carter had a 55 yard kickoff return. The Bears converted a must have 2-pt conversion to cut it to 27-24 and then recovered an onside kick when the ball hit off of a Vikings player’s leg. Williams would immediately find DJ Moore for 27 yards and a play later Cairo Santos sent the Bears into OT.
The Bears couldn’t capitalize as Caleb Williams was sacked on 1st down & then the Bears had a delay of game penalty on 2nd down. The Bears went 3 and out, punted and then the defense allowed the Vikings to march down the field to kick the game winning FG.
Stars Of The Game
- Caleb Williams, Bears – 32 for 47, 340 yards, 2 TD; 6 rushes, 33 yards
- Sam Darnold, Vikings – 22 for 34, 330 yards, 2 TD
- Aaron Jones, Vikings – 22 rushes, 106 yards, 1 TD; 3 catches, 23 yards
- Jordan Addison, Vikings – 8 catches, 162 yards, 1 TD
- DJ Moore, Bears – 7 catches, 106 yards, 1 TD; 1 rush, 13 yards
- Keenan Allen, Bears – 9 catches, 86 yards, 1 TD
Grading The Bears
Offense: Caleb Williams was spectacular today. His ability to command the offense, make incredible throws and get the team in position to send the game into overtime is what fans were hoping they would see in the #1 overall pick. Caleb was the Bears offense today as he accounted for 373 of the team’s nearly 400 yards of offense. The run game was non-existent. Caleb was the leading rusher with just 33 yards rushing. The critical sack Caleb took in OT led to the quick 3 & out. Putting that aside, he was brilliant today. Grade: B-
Defense: Not a banner day for the defense. They allowed 452 yards of offense for a 7 yards per play average. There was bad tackling, not nearly enough pressure on Sam Darnold and the run game for the Vikings averaged 4.6 yards per rush. Between the 4th quarter & OT, the Bears allowed conversions of 3rd & 13, 3rd & 12 and 3rd & 10. Jordan Addison and TJ Hockenson were all over the field and both receivers had over 100 yards a piece. Grade: D-
Special Teams: For the 2nd straight week the special teams allowed a FG to be blocked. DeAndre Carter foolishly allowed a punt to touch him which led to a fumble recovery for the Vikings. There was clear confusion on a 4th & 4 play where the FG unit was coming on and was then told to get off the field. The onside kick recovery led to the Bears’ game tying FG. DeAndre Carter did get some redemption with a 55-yd kickoff return that led to a TD. Tory Taylor averaged nearly 49 yards per punt. Grade: C
Coaching: I will give props to offensive coordinator Thomas Brown for getting Caleb Williams ready to deal with that aggressive Vikings defense. Outside of that the coaching staff did not have a great game preparing the team again this week. The team was penalized 7 times for 80 yards. Indecisiveness by Matt Eberflus on a 4th & 4 play led to the play not working. There was a challenge on a Jordan Addison catch that was not worth challenging. You can also look to the play caller for the defense for the defense’s inability to get enough pressure on Sam Darnold. That play caller was also Matt Eberflus. Grade: D-
What’s Next
The Bears under Matt Eberflus have been a disaster. With today’s loss Matt Eberflus’ overall record is 14-30. It marks the 3rd time in Eberflus’ coaching tenure where the Bears have had losing streaks of 4 games or more. Want a more depressing stat? Matt Eberflus is now 5-18 in one score games. That’s the worst record of any team since 2022. This team continues to make dumb plays, play undisciplined in key moments and continue to suffer because of inadequate coaching. There’s nowhere else for the Bears to turn and now they have to quickly prepare to face the NFL’s best team, the Detroit Lions… on Thanksgiving in front of a national audience. Good luck…
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