At home and fighting for a playoff spot, the Vikings lost to the Bears by a score of 12-10.
Making his third start in place of Kirk Cousins, Josh Dobbs threw four passes that ended in the hands of a Bears defender. Three of the four came off of tips. Jordan Addison should’ve caught one of those passes before it made its way to the hands of the Bears. The fortunate thing was that the Bears managed to turn all of that generosity into only three points. Credit a terrific game by the Vikings defense.
The only real positive in this game for the Vikings was the defense. They contained dangerous Bears quarterback Justin Fields. Until his 36-yard toss to D.J. Moore with a minute to play, Fields had created zero explosive players. Other than a 14-yard designed run, his running was kept under wraps. He was sacked three times and routinely harassed in the pocket. That harassment took place while still containing his scrambling. The Vikings probably would’ve been credited with a few more sacks if Fields wasn’t allowed great leniency with intentional grounding. In particular, the play before that 36-yarder to Moore, Danielle Hunter had Fields sacked for a 14-yard loss. Instead, Fields was allowed to dump the ball to no one. Dobbs had been flagged for a remarkably similar play at the end of the first half. Instead of third-and-24 from their own 36, Fields and the Bears had a much more friendly third-and-10 from midfield. The throw to Moore that set up the game-winning field goal became a little easier.
The evolution this season of the Vikings defense has been fun to witness. Especially after the defensive atrocities of last season. This was probably their best game. With the way the Vikings offense played, it was needed. At his best, Fields is one of the most dangerous quarterbacks in the league. The Vikings defense forced him into an excessive number of dump-offs. For the game, the distance of his throws averaged a minuscule 3.5 yards beyond the line of scrimmage. For the bulk of the game, that number was a microscopic 0.3 yards. That 36-yard heave really flipped those numbers. While he moved the chains a couple times, his running was barely a factor. The Vikings defense kept the Bears offense out of the end zone. They also took the ball away from Fields twice in the fourth quarter. The Vikings defense did enough, more than enough, for a win.
The Vikings offense did turn the first fumble recovery into a 77-yard touchdown drive. That gave them a 10-9 lead. It might’ve been enough if the Vikings offense had been able to manage to move the chains even once after the second fumble recovery. Instead, they went three-and-out. A poor punt gave the Bears some hope with about two minutes to play. Move the chains even once, at best, the Bears get the ball back with about 30 seconds to play and no timeouts. With the way the defense was playing, I like the Vikings chances in that situation.
The Vikings finally enter their bye week. Week 13 is way too late for a bye. I wish that the league would get their shit together and concentrate all of the byes within the middle third of the season. Anyway, two weeks ago it felt like the Vikings had a real good chance to enter their bye week with a sparkling 8-4 record. Instead, there’s been a return of the remarkable generosity that plagued the start of the season. If the Vikings are to have any shot at the playoffs, that must stop. The good news is that the return from the bye week will also include the return of superstar receiver Justin Jefferson.
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