Week 11 Thoughts

Officially, the Chicago Bears took care of the Minnesota Vikings 21-13.

Unofficially, the Vikings offense was still on their bye week. So was the defense but the defense did make some plays. They just didn't make enough of them on third down. 

The Vikings single touchdown was set up by a 48-yard run by safety Andrew Sendejo on a fake punt. Sendejo was the Vikings leading rusher. A single carry for 48 yards. Exactly half of the 96 yards gained on the ground by the entire offense. That's not good. The fake punt gave the offense a first and goal from the 7-yard line. Rookie quarterback Teddy Bridgewater hit tight end Rhett Ellison for the touchdown. That gave the Vikings a 10-0 lead early in the game. It was their only touchdown of the game. It really shouldn't have been.

The Vikings defense set up the offense in the third quarter. Safety Harrison Smith intercepted Jay Cutler on the Vikings 21-yard line and took the ball back 52 yards to the Bears 27-yard line. Three fairly harmless plays later and Blair Walsh missed a 38-yard field goal. A game-changing play by the Vikings defense is rewarded with nothing but renewed momentum for the Bears.

The Bears offense took advantage of that missed opportunity and missed field goal by going on a 16-play drive that consumed 7:35. The Bears were terrific on third down the entire game. They converted two on this depressing drive. Two that they didn't convert led to fourth down conversions. It was a long, time-consuming drive that ended in a 4-yard touchdown pass from Cutler to Brandon Marshall. 21-10 Bears with just under nine minutes left in the game.

Time.

"The whole clock thing was bullshit."
     -Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer

The Soldier Field game clock wasn't working too hot for extended stretches of the game. Time was kept by the officials on the field. Coaches and players could only monitor the clock through updates from the official. Seeing as the Vikings were battling the clock as well as the Bears at the end of the game this was a problem. 

The Vikings offense finally got something going when they finally got the ball in the fourth quarter. A drive to the Bears 8-yard line ended in a field goal. A touchdown would have been better. 

If the Vikings had converted their scoring opportunities into touchdowns, they might have won this game. Despite not generating much offense the Vikings could have won this game. They had chances. 

If there was a goat on the Vikings defense, that had to be cornerback Josh Robinson. All three of the Bears touchdowns were to the receiver being covered by Robinson. Two to Brandon Marshall. One to Alshon Jeffery. These are two of the most talented receivers in the game. They are also two of the biggest receivers in the game. Jeffery is 6'3". Marshall is 6'4". Robinson is 5'10". On all three of the touchdowns, Robinson was in good coverage. He just couldn't get to the ball. He has to be able to get to the ball. He has to get better position on these bigger receivers. It's a tough task, especially against receivers as skilled as the Bears big receivers, but it's the NFL. 

Jeffery had 11 catches for 135 yards and a touchdown. Marshall had 7 catches for 90 yards and 2 touchdowns. 

Vikings corner second-year corner Xavier Rhodes got the first interception of his career. It stopped a surprisingly sad two-minute drill by the Bears to end the first half. The Bears didn't seem too interested in putting up another score before the half. The lackadaisical 

The Vikings defense had a goal-line stand on the Bears opening drive of the second half. They stopped Cutler short of the end zone on 4th-and-goal from the 1-yard line. The Vikings dodged a bullet but the offense went six-and-out and gave the ball right back to the Bears. 

The Vikings poor play on offense was really the difference in this game.The Vikings were 2/10 on third down conversions. They were 2/2 on 4th down attempts. That was nice. The difference in time of possession was ridiculous. The Bears offense held the ball for 38:38. A 17:16 difference. That's rough on any defense but the defense, in turn, didn't help the offense. The inability of the defense to get off of the field with third down stops kept the ball out of the hands of the offense. It's difficult to get into a rhythm sitting on the sideline. The Bears converted 10 of 17 third downs. Two of the misses resulted in 4th down conversion. So, the Vikings defense got the ball back for the offense on only five of their opportunities to do so. That's not good. 

Bears defensive end Jared Allen entered the game with only 1.5 sacks on the season. The former Vikings pass rusher nearly doubled that total with a single sack. He blew by tackle Matt Kalil as if Kalil wasn't even there. So, we got to see Allen's little calf-roping celebration as a member of the Bears. We were actually treated to it twice. The first time was after he stopped Bridgewater for a 1-yard gain. Two other Bears lineman also performed a little celebratory thing after stopping Bridgewater for a 2-yard gain. I'm not sure why the Bears lineman are so quick to celebrate routine plays. This is a group that has already lost a lineman for the season due to an on-the-field celebration. Defensive end Lamarr Houston was lost for the season with a torn ACL after getting a little squirrelly after a late game sack of New England Patriots backup QB Jimmy Garoppolo in a blowout loss. Very strange priorities.

The one positive for the Vikings offense was the emergence of receiver Charles Johnson. Signed off the Cleveland Browns practice squad earlier in the season, Johnson saw his most extensive playing time. He made the most of it with six receptions for 87 yards. Bridgewater's last throw of the game was to Johnson in the end zone for a potential game-tying play. It might have been a touchdown if not for a safety that Bridgewater must not have seen. Ryan Mundy sealed the Bears win with an interception in the end zone. It was a curious decision on 2nd and three from the Bears 29 with over a minute to go. Since, the time left was mystery we can only guess that there was a minute to go. Not knowing the clock status might have been the reason why Bridgewater felt like he had to go for the end zone. Who knows?

Charles Johnson looks like a nice receiving option for Bridgewater going forward. At 6'2" and 215 lbs, he has good size and he brings some much needed speed. He also seemed to be the only receiver that could get open yesterday.

The execution of screen passes in this game was huge. The Bears executed them very well. The Vikings executed them poorly. The difference was striking. 

There was a very curious play and official's decision in the first half. The Vikings were leading 3-0 and the Bears were driving. 1st and 10 on the Vikings 25-yard line. Cutler was hit while throwing. Live, it simply looked like an incomplete pass. The ball just fluttered harmlessly to the ground in the middle of the field. There was some effort made by the Marshall of the Bears and Vikings defensive end Everson Griffen to pick up the ball. The whistle must have been blown as the players slowed. Zimmer said that he never heard a whistle. Vikings corner Captain Munnerlyn kept after it and eventually secured the ball. The call on the field was incomplete pass. As the Bears were lining up for the next play, Zimmer challenged the call on the field. On replay, it looked like the ball came out of Cutler's hand before his arm came forward. A fumble. Now, the confusion. Upon review, it was ruled that the ball was fumbled rather than an incomplete pass. The apparent problem for the Vikings was that Munnerlyn's recovery was not immediate. If Griffen had recovered the ball, the Vikings would have had the ball. I've seen footballs rolling around on the field for what seemed like minutes so I'm not sure why the length of time that it took Munnerlyn to secure the ball was a factor. If the Bears maintained possession, the ball should have been spotted at the spot of the fumble. It should not have been spotted the original spot as if it was ruled incomplete. It was. The call on the field was not upheld. It went from incomplete pass to down by contact. So, it should not have cost the Vikings a timeout. The Vikings didn't exactly get what they hoped through the challenge but the call on the field was not upheld. Anyway, it just looked like the officials were making shit up as they bumbled along. 

The Vikings lost. The Bears won. The Vikings and Bears are tied at the bottom of the NFC North with 4-6 records. 

The St. Louis Rams have now defeated both of the Super Bowl teams from last year. They accomplished the seemingly impossible by holding the Denver Broncos to a single touchdown. 22-7 Rams. The Broncos lost receiver Emanuel Sanders, tight end Julius Thomas, and running back Montee Ball to injuries. That's a lot of offensive production on the sideline. 

That other Super Bowl team, the Seattle Seahawks lost again. This time to the Kansas City Chiefs 24-20. The Seahawks are 6-4 and looking way up at the Arizona Cardinals. 

Houston Texans defensive end J.J. Watt scored another touchdown. On offense. A 2-yard touchdown catch from first time starter Ryan Mallett. The Texans won the battle of the former Tom Brady backups 23-7.

Eli Manning threw five passes to the San Francisco 49ers.

49ers inside linebacker continues to shine in place of injured All-Pros Patrick Willis and Navorro Bowman. He caught two of those errant Manning passes.

In a battle of dominant defenses, the Arizona Cardinals made a statement with their 14-6 win over the Detroit Lions. Cardinals defensive coordinator Todd Bowles got a contract extension last week. It wouldn't be a surprise if he's a head coach somewhere else in the league. Actually, it would be a surprise if he isn't.

The Cardinal are the first team to nine wins.

The Green Bay Packers continue to soar. They took apart the Philadelphia Eagles 53-20. It really wasn't that close. Aaron Rodgers continues to play on a whole other level. Receivers Jordy Nelson and Randall Cobb each gained over 100 yards. The Packers special teams and defense nearly equaled the offense in scoring. Adding touchdowns with a Micah Hyde punt return, a Julius Peppers interception return, and a Casey Hayward fumble return. Mark Sanchez and the Eagles were feeling pretty happy with themselves after their win over the Carolina Panthers last Monday night. They probably feel a little different now.

The New Orleans Saints lost again. They lost again at home. They aren't supposed to lose there. This time to the schizophrenic Cincinnati Bengals. The Saints are 4-6 and tied for first in the NFC South.

The New England Patriots took care of the Indianapolis Colts 42-20. The Patriots defeated the Broncos last week by a similar 43-21 score. Double digit losses to the Cincinnati Bengals and Miami Dolphins early now look like freakish anomalies. The Patriots are soaring. Tight end Rob Gronkoski gets better every week. He might be the most dominant offensive player in the game. Each week a new running back takes over. Last night it was Jonas Gray. 38 carries for 199 yards. The defense is playing great.

It's wrong to overlook the terrific play of the Cardinals but the Packers and Patriots look like the best teams in the league right now.

The Vikings would be tied for first in the NFC South.