CHICAGO vs MINNESOTA 

BEARS WIN 19 – 17 

• Story of the Game – The Bears Pull Off Another Clutch Victory to Spoil McCarthy’s Game Winning Drive 

Throughout this game both the Bears and Vikings found themselves struggling to win on early downs which put pressure on their young QBs to deliver in 3rd & long situations. Caleb Williams did a solid of digging the Bears out of holes but inconsistently with his throws down the field led to a number of drives stalling for punts or field goals as they once again struggled to move the ball when in opponents territory. While JJ McCarthy and the Vikings found more success in their running game and in turn creating less 3rd & long situations JJ was similar to Caleb in the fact that his accuracy down the field, especially to the sidelines, was inconsistent and flat out poor at times. He missed a number of open throws to Jefferson and Addison that would have extended drives but rather led to punts and frustration in the WR room. While both the Bears and Vikings struggled on offense today the Vikings/JJ McCarthy made too many mistakes and turned the ball over which made all the difference in the game. Despite the turnovers and mistakes McCarthy does deserve credit though for his last drive where he looked unbelievably sharp, accurate, and most importantly decisive when they needed him most. Ultimately all was for not though as the Devin Duvernay saved the day with a kickoff return following that clutch drive from MIN that put the Bears into field goal range which ultimately won them the game despite their offense failing to move the ball much at all on their last possession. A heartbreaking loss for a MIN team that made just one two many mistakes and yet another unbelievable victory for a Bears team that continues to beat themselves until the last minute where they decide to turn it on and play their best ball. Is this sustainable for Chicago? Most likely not but what an incredible stretch of games they’ve had for a team and fanbase that has been starved of winning for so long. 

• Key Notes for the Bears 

The Bears offense continues to struggle when they aren’t able to establish their run game and that was very evident in this game as well. Their passing game whether it’s due to penalties, inconsistent accuracy from Caleb, or simple mistakes across the entire operation just can’t move the ball consistently enough to make up for a lack of a running game. Because of these issues they struggle on early downs which leaves them behind the sticks and in 3rd & long situations. Granted they actually were finding some success on these 3rd & long situations as Caleb was extending plays and finding open WRs after escaping pressure/sacks from the MIN defense but it wasn’t sustainable which led to them settling for FGs or punts far more often than they should have been. 

They had a number of quality pass protection reps this game but much like a number of aspects of this team it was inconsistent. They used play action and quick hitting routes on the move to help mitigate the aggression of the Vikings defense which helped as well. It just never seemed to come together on offense as one play Caleb and their receiving threats would have a great rep but the protection fail and vice versa. This continues to be a trend for a number of position groups and aspects on this team so while they’ve been winning there’s still obvious flaws that need to be cleaned up. 

The Bears pass rush was disappointing this game against a Vikings OL that has been largely disappointing all year. They were unable to get JJ McCarthy on the ground and really failed to affect him as a thrower at all throughout the game with any pressure. While the secondary stepped up and made plays on the backend to save a couple solid drives from the Vikings this DL continues to struggle in both the run and pass. They need a star up front that demands attention and frees the rest of this DL up but nobody one has taken the step to become that. Montez Sweat has flashes of being that guy but ultimately I think he’s shown he’s just a quality starting EDGE that flashes great reps due to the level of athlete he is.

• Key Notes for the Vikings 

JJ McCarthy once again showed some flashes of great play including a clutch go ahead drive that may have won them the game had they not given up the kickoff return that they did following the touchdown. But for all the positives he continues to struggle with consistency and I think also confidence at times. He was struggling to push the ball to the sidelines with any level of accuracy no matter the distance of the throw all game long and that regally showed in 3rd down situations. Drive after drive it felt like he would have these great on time and in rhythm throws and then have a series of plays that fall short or outside of the WR’s catch radius which ultimately led to the majority of the drives showing some level of promise but coming short and ending in punts. It’s still early in his career and the flashes of play have to have you hopeful for what’s to come but the inconsistency with accuracy and timing within the offense is killing them this year. 

I thought the Vikings OL played so much better this game and while that may also speak to the Bears lack of pass rush and Wentz not at QB anymore and holding onto the ball forever it was still refreshing to see them not routinely getting beat up front. I believe this OL and offense as a whole will find more success as they get continue to get everyone healthy and getting reps together but I’m afraid it may be too little too late for this team by the time they fully round into form. 

The Vikings defense would have had a ridiculous day had they just been able to tackle Caleb Williams. Time after time they brought a blitz or some form of a pressure look and they would get home but Caleb found a way to escape that pressure almost every single time. And while that didn’t necessarily hurt them all that much as they held up on the backend quite well they very well might have won this game had they been able to convert those pressures into sacks. 

• Standout Performers 

• CHI 

Caleb Williams – 16/32  193yds  0/0 – 4/26 rush

• In all honesty it wasn’t a great day for Caleb but he extended a number of drives by escaping pressure and digging the offense out of the holes they created on 1st and 2nd down

Theo Benedet – Stepped in after an injury and not only was serviceable but actually helped get their running game find some success later on in the game 

Noah Sewell – 10 Tackles (4 Solo) 

• Continues to impress as he flies around and really effects opponents running games 

Kevin Byard III – 5 Tackles (2 Solo)  1 INT  1 PBU 

Nahshon Wright – 1 Tackle  1 INT  1 PBU 

• MIN 

Jordan Mason – 6/45  1 TD 

Justin Jefferson – 5/61 

• Despite struggling in the box score for the majority of the year he continues to impress as a leader and is of course special when he does get his chances 

Blake Cashman – 15 Tackles (6 Solo) 

Andrew Van Ginkel – 8 Tackles (2 Solo)  1 Sack  2 TFLs 

Tyrion Ingram Dawkins – 3 Tackles (2 Solo)  1 TFL 

• Blew up run on last CHI drive to force a long FG 

Dallas Turner – 7 Tackles (2 Solo)  1 Sack  2 TFLs  1 PD