Vikings-Bears

It’s a win. 

Soldier Field is always a tough place to play. The Chicago Bears are always a tough team to play. The Minnesota Vikings escaped both with a 17-9 win. The officials and a soft defense gifted the Bears a meaningless touchdown on the final play of the game. 

Is it still a one-score game if the losing team is awarded a meaningless six points on the final play? I guess that it is even if it didn’t play like one. That bumps the number of one-score games that the Vikings have played to 13. They’ve played 14 games. That’s a ridiculous total and it’s reflected in my mental health. 

It’s a win. 

The Vikings managed this win with a mediocre offense, an opportunistic defense, and a generous sprinkling of stupidity from the Bears. This game probably would’ve been a legitimate one-score game if the Bears hadn’t repeatedly burned themselves with mistakes. Most of them of the stupid variety. COVID depleted the defense. What they lacked in front-line talent they made it for with enthusiasm. Often too much enthusiasm. They were flagged nine times for 91 yards. It should’ve been more. Deon Bush collected an interception because Justin Jefferson was tackled while running his route. The rule book and every official paying attention call that a penalty. Akiem Hicks collected a drive-killing sack. He should’ve been penalized for a solid clubbing of Kirk Cousins’ head. The rule book and every official paying attention call that a penalty. The Bears played with such unrestrained enthusiasm that they probably could’ve been flagged on every play. Perhaps the officials grew tired of flagging the Bears. 

This was a strange game. The Vikings had a two-score lead for about three-quarters of the game. As a result they were in control of the game for nearly the entirety of it. The offense did little. Cousins threw for only 87 yards. He was routinely hassled in the pocket. Dalvin Cook ran for 89 yards. It took him 28 carries to hit that mark. Justin Jefferson had four catches for 47 yards. As a team, the Vikings offense churned out 193 yards. That’s it. They surely break 200 yards if the officials hadn’t taken the ball away on the missed tackling of Jefferson and clubbing of Cousins. They had six three-and-outs. The Vikings last played a game 11 days ago. Perhaps they were rusty from the mini-bye that followed that game. The offense definitely didn’t look in synch. Was it the time off or was it the frisky, physical Bears defense? Who knows? I do know that the Vikings will need more than 17 points and 193 yards to beat the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday. 

The best thing that the Vikings defense did was keep the Bears out of the end zone. Other than that ridiculous final touchdown. Prior to the final meaningless drive, the Bears offense reached the Vikings 10-, 16-, 31-, 21-, 9-, 14- yard lines. Only a field goal came of those scoring opportunities. The Bears turned the ball over on downs three straight times inside the 22 in the second half. The Vikings defense forced and recovered two fumbles. The special teams recovered a muffed punt. The defense was opportunistic. They bent but never broke. Bears rookie quarterback Justin Fields is a promising football player. Even at this early stage of his career, his arm and athleticism can be a problem. He made some plays but the Vikings never let him hurt them. They took advantage of his inexperience and handled his unique athleticism and talent. 

This was the second consecutive game in which Cousins has looked off. His throws are off. His timing’s off. He has to get his game back on track over the final three weeks of the season if the Vikings have any shot at the playoffs. 

It’s a win. It wasn’t pretty but Vikings-Bears games often aren’t. The Vikings are now 7-7. It feels like they’ve been chasing .500 since they lost the first game of the season. Now, they have to win three more. Despite an often frustrating first 14 games, the playoffs are in sight. It starts with the Rams on Sunday. 

A broadcast note.

The ESPN trio of Steve Levy, Brian Griese, and Louis Riddick called that game like a Bears radio team. Do they do this every week? Pick one team before the game and ride that team throughout the game. I guess that removes half of the pre-game work. It was a ludicrous performance.