Vikings - Bears

Defense!

The Minnesota Vikings kicked three field goals during a rainy, soggy football game in Chicago. The Bears kicked only one. A 9-3 NFL game feels like a foreign thing in the current era. This game was more like one played in the 1970s. 

9-3. After running up 59 points against the Carolina Panthers in Week 1, Bears head coach Ben Johnson boasted about his offense challenging league scoring records. He’s probably whistling a sad and different tune after running into the Vikings defense. For four quarters, the supposed offensive wizard had no answers for the defense Brian Flores put on the field. That defense was outstanding. 

Caleb Williams is always a challenge. He’s probably the league’s most difficult to catch and tackle quarterback. He also has the arm to make throws to anywhere on the field from anywhere on the field. It’s a damn shame that he left the game with an apparent hamstring injury late in the fourth quarter. That injury happened inside the 10-yard line. Tyson Bagent is a skilled backup but that’s a difficult entry with the game on the line. The Bears had to settle for a field goal attempt. Vikings cornerback Isaiah Rodgers blocked the game-tying, chip-shot attempt to keep the score at 6-3. The Vikings offense only had a couple sustained drives on the day. One of them followed the big special teams play by Rodgers. The drive ended with a field goal with just over a minute to play and gave the Vikings a 9-3 lead. The Bears needed a touchdown with just over a minute to play. That final field goal was ultimately the difference in the game. Last week, the Vikings rode a late fourth down stop of the Green Bay Packers for a Week 1 win. Yesterday, the Vikings rode this blocked field goal to a Week 2 win. 

Unlike most football fans, I kinda like gritty, defensive football games. Not every game has to be a shootout with bewildered and sloppy defenses. The respective offenses may have left plenty to be desired yesterday but it was a rainy day and a soggy surface. The Soldier Field turf is often a problem on the best days. Consistent rain just mucks up a football game. 

The Vikings are now 2-0 and on top of the NFC North. The two wins are also against division foes.

While the Vikings defense was terrific throughout the game. They still needed a couple singular plays to preserve the win. Isaiah Rodgers was involved in both. Each came with the Bears threatening the Vikings goal line. On the opening possession of the second half, Caleb Williams guided the Bears offense to the Vikings one-yard line. On first-and-goal from the one, Vikings defensive lineman Jalen Redmond stripped D’Andre Swift of the football and Rodgers recovered the fumble. If he’d recovered the ball cleanly, he’d probably have gone 99 yards for a score. No one was catching him. Instead, he had to fall on the ball to secure it. A quarter later, he had that blocked field goal. In those two plays, Rodgers kept the Bears from scoring as much as 10 points. He nearly had a third gigantic play to seal the win. Instead, his interception at the goal line was ruled out of bounds. For what it’s worth, I thought that he had both feet in the field of play before his heel hit that white stripe. The Vikings had to withstand two more Bears offensive plays from their own 12-yard line. It was a nervy two plays. Rodgers might not have sealed the win with a third big play but edge rusher Dallas Turner did. 

Through two weeks and two wins, Dallas Turner might’ve been the Vikings best football player in both games. Last week, he harassed Packers quarterback Jordan Love all day. Yesterday, he did the same thing to Caleb Williams and Tyson Bagent. Again, Williams is difficult to catch and even more difficult to get to the ground. Turner did it once. He also sacked Bagent to end the game. 

The entire Vikings defense was great. Dallas Turner, Isaiah Rodgers, and Jalen Redmond highlighted the team play with the biggest plays. 

The Vikings didn’t generate a lot of offense. 246 total yards and 11 first downs won’t win a lot of games. Against the Bears, it was enough. Carson Wentz managed the game. Aaron Jones Sr. ran for 105 yards on 23 carries. His rushing and Justin Jefferson’s 55 receiving yards were nearly two-thirds of the Vikings modest offense. It was that sort of day. 

12 total points. With the meager scoring, it was interesting that each team scored a field goal on their first possession. So, half of the 12 points were scored in the game’s first ten minutes. Ben Johnson’s high-scoring offense couldn’t score again. The Vikings chipped in two more field goals. 

There were so many positives for the Vikings defense. One that must be mentioned is the solid play of first-round rookie defensive tackle Caleb Williams. With several more snaps than the first week, he made some plays. He got washed into the traffic of teammates on one play but the rest of his snaps looked positive. He was involved in six total tackles and had a tackle for loss. That was nice performance and a step forward for the gigantic rookie. 

Defense!

I can’t wait to see this Vikings defense on the field again. Up next is a road game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 3. 

Flea Flicker Week 2 Predictions

Week 1 was fun. It’s on to Week 2. 

Minnesota Vikings @ Chicago Bears

Pick: Vikings

With this game, there’s only one acceptable outcome. 

Carolina Panthers @ Atlanta Falcons

Pick: Panthers

The Panthers defense should be feeling salty after giving up 59 points to the Bears. 

Philadelphia Eagles @ Tennessee Titans

Pick: Titans

I doubt I get this one right but it’s fun to pick against the Eagles.

Pittsburgh Steelers @ New England Patriots

Pick: Patriots

It’s also fun to pick against Aaron Rodgers.

Green Bay Packers @ New York Jets

Pick: Packers

The Packers rebound from their humiliating beatdown by the Vikings.

Cleveland Browns @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Pick: Buccaneers

Buccaneers cruise. 

New Orleans Saints @ Baltimore Ravens

Pick: Ravens

The Saints took the Lions to overtime in Week 1. The Lions might not be as frisky as some expected. The Ravens should handle the Saints.

Cincinnati Bengals @ Houston Texans

Pick: Texans

This should be a fun game.

Jacksonville Jaguars @ Denver Broncos

Pick: Jaguars

The Jaguars roll over Sean Payton.

Las Vegas Raiders @ Los Angeles Chargers

Pick: Chargers

The Chargers rebound from their stunning loss to the Cardinals.

Washington Commanders @ Dallas Cowboys

Pick: Cowboys

Both had sad openers. Just going with the home team.

Seattle Seahawks @ Arizona Cardinals

Pick: Seahawks

The Seahawks should handle the Cardinals even if I was quarterbacking the team.

Miami Dolphins @ San Francisco 49ers

Pick: 49ers

49ers roll.

Indianapolis Colts Kansas City Chiefs

Pick: Chiefs

Chiefs roll.

Chicago Bears All - Time Team

The Minnesota Vikings are on the road for their Week 2 game against the Chicago Bears. The Bears are one of only two teams to compete in all 107 seasons of the NFL. The Arizona Cardinals are the other team. The Bears have a long, often successful history. Unfortunately for younger fans, their “glory years” were before the Super Bowl became a year-ending spectacle. The Bears have won nine league titles. One of those was Super Bowl XX. It’s been a while but some of the greatest teams in league history have come out of Chicago. On the eve of the big game, here are some of the best players in the long history of the Chicago Bears. 

Chicago Bears All - Time Team

Offense

Quarterback 

Sid Luckman

Running Back

Walter Payton

Fullback

Bronko Nagurski 

Wide Receivers

Harlon Hill

Brandon Marshall

Tight End

Mike Ditka

Tackles

Joe Stydahar

George Musso

Guards

Dan Fortmann

Stan Jones

Center

Bulldog Turner

Defense

Defensive Ends

Richard Dent

Khalil Mack

Defensive Tackles

Link Lyman

Dan Hampton

Linebackers

Bulldog Turner

Dick Butkus

Brian Urlacher

The middle linebacker tradition in Chicago is ridiculous. No other team can boast the riches at any position that the Bears can boast at the middle linebacker position. Bulldog Turner, Bill George, Dick Butkus, Mike Singletary, Brian Urlacher. It’s a tradition so great that I’ve selected a middle linebacker trio. I’ve done that at the expense of outstanding outside linebackers like George Connor, Otis Wilson, Lance Briggs, and Joe Fortunato. 

Cornerbacks

Charles Tillman

J.C. Caroline

Safeties

Red Grange

Roosevelt Taylor

Special Teams

Kicker

Robbie Gould

Punter

Bobby Joe Green

Kick Returner

Gale Sayers

Punt Returner

Devin Hester

That’s a terrifying return duo. 

Pro Football Hall of Fame Voter Changes

The Pro Football Hall of Fame voting process has always been a controversial thing. Debating the greatness of a football career will always be a controversial thing. When several voters decided during the 2026 vote that Bill Belichick wasn’t deserving of first-ballot induction, the voting process was deemed flawed and some of the voters were revealed as petty, vindictive, and unqualified. I’ve long thought that football historians were far more qualified than most, if not all, of the media honks. All of the historians I know have an unbiased appreciation of every player and moment of football history. Sure, they have their favorite teams and players but they also have an honest view of their place in history. Among the media honks with a vote, too many only know of the players they covered and the era they lived. As a result, those voters would only consider the players they actually watched. So much for honoring and preserving the history of the game. It’s only the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s mission statement. After the mess of the Belichick vote, the process and the voters had to change and changes have now been made. Perhaps it needs to play out but the Hall’s shot-callers might’ve made things even worse. 

The Changes:

- reducing the number of voters

- eliminating the senior category 

- enshrining between three and seven candidates each year from a 15-player pool

  (13 players, one coach, and one contributor)

- scrapping the system that tasked the market-based selector to present the case for candidates

In regards to reducing the number of voters, 50 voters always felt like a reasonable number. In recent years, several voters have expressed little interest in voting on players before their time. Those individuals shouldn’t be part of the process. With that in mind, the 50 voters could use some trimming. After seeing the new roster of voters, some of the wrong voters were trimmed. 

The 28 Voters

• Jared Allen, Hall of Famer
• Howard Balzer, CardsWire, SiriusXM NFL Radio
• Jarrett Bell, USA Today
• David Birkett, Detroit Free Press
• Vic Carucci, WGRZ-TV
• Mike Chappell, CBS4/Fox59TV
• Peter Dougherty, Green Bay Press-Gazette
• Jeff Duncan, Times-Picayune
• Dan Fouts, Broadcaster, Hall of Famer
• Scott Garceau, 105.7 The Fan/WMAR-TV
• Bob Glauber, Author
• Vahe Gregorian, Kansas City Star
• Nicki Jhabvala, Pro Football Writers of America
• Lindsay Jones, The Ringer
• Ira Kaufman, JoeBucsFan.com 
• Ross Ketover, NFL Films
• Sam Kouvaris, SamSportsLine.com
• Jeff Legwold, ESPN
• Rob Maaddi, Associated Press
• Gary Myers, Author
• Sal Paolantonio, Senior National Correspondent, ESPN
• Dan Pompei, The Athletic
• Mike Sando, The Athletic
• Will Shields, Hall of Famer
• Jim Trotter, Retired, The Athletic & NFL Network
• Calvin Watkins, Dallas Morning News
• Eric Williams, Sports Illustrated
• Charean Williams, Pro Football Talk

Rick Gosselin and Ron Borges were two of the greatest advocates for deserving senior candidates. They were cut. Perhaps they were cut because they were so supportive of the players lost to ignorance. Seeing as the changes include eliminating the senior category, it’s pretty clear the current Pro Football Hall of Fame shot-callers do not care about football’s past and forgotten deserving senior players. Also, I like Dan Pompei but a flight to Canton in for the 2013 Pro Football Hall of Fame inductions had me questioning his knowledge of football history. I was sitting behind Pompei on the flight and overheard him chatting with another passenger. They were discussing senior inductee Curley Culp. Despite being on the senior committee that selected Culp, Pompei couldn’t recall if he’d won a Super Bowl. Anyway, as much as I love Jared Allen, I’d rather see Gosselin and Borges voting on the Hall of Famers. Or John McClain. Or Clark Judge. I also believe that any voter that kept Bill Belichick from being the first-ballot inductee his career demanded should’ve been eliminated. That includes Vahe Gregorian. It’s horseshit that he made the cut. 

We’ll see how the 2027 vote plays out but I have very little faith in these changes. Pro Football Hall of Fame president Jim Porter and the Hall’s board have made major changes to the process in their five years of running the show. Those changes are creating a pattern of addressing a mistake with a bigger mistake. For the sake of the Hall and football history, I hope I’m wrong. 

Throwback Thursday: Red Grange’s Football Tour

Through its first five years, the National Football League was a shaky and questionable business. The most popular sports in the 1920s were baseball, boxing, college football, and horse racing. Some folks probably sprinkled in tennis and golf before they even considered paying attention to professional football. Joe Carr, George Halas, Curly Lambeau, Chris O’Brien, Carl Storck, and the rest of the league’s leaders were scraping, scratching, doing everything they could to gain notice and traction with the media and public. Enter Harold “Red” Grange. 

The 1920s introduced the nation to sports celebrities. Babe Ruth, Jack Dempsey, Bobby Jones, Helen Wills, Lou Gehrig, Man o’ War, and Bill Tilden thrilled a public that finally had some spare time. In his three years at Illinois, Red Grange joined those sports celebrities. People flocked to the stadium to see him live and to theaters to see his highlights. The NFL needed him. They needed him bad. 1925 was 11 years before the first NFL Draft. Every potential professional football player was essentially a free agent. In an attempt to gain a bit of respect and credibility with the public, the NFL had established a policy of no tampering with college football players that still had remaining eligibility. Grange’s last football game as an innocent University of Illinois student-athlete was at Ohio State on November 21, 1925. A day later, he was sitting on the sidelines at Cubs Park for the Chicago Bears-Green Bay Packers game. He was watching his new teammates shut out the Packers 21-0. Four days later, he played for the Bears against the Chicago Cardinals on Thanksgiving. 120 hours after his final college football game, Red Grange played in his first NFL game. Perhaps he wasn’t so innocent. 

If the general public wasn’t so thrilled to see Red Grange play professional football, they might’ve been suspicious as to how Grange signed with the Bears in only a matter of hours. The reality was that it had been in the works for weeks, maybe months. All of that and all that was to come was crafted by Grange’s agent. A theater owner named C.C. Pyle had an expansive plan for Grange, the Bears, and himself. C.C. Pyle was a piece of work but this story isn’t really about him. This story is about the ridiculous football marathon that kicked off soon after Grange joined the Bears. 

It’s really no stretch to say that the addition of Red Grange to the roster of the Chicago Bears and the NFL put player, team, and league on a whole other trajectory. All three needed each other. All three looked to profit from the new union. What happened after Grange joined the Bears could never happen today. It shouldn’t have happened in 1925. Grange and his new teammates played a lot of football. 

Most of the following is taken from Chris Willis’ excellent and incredibly thorough Red Grange: The Life and Legacy of the NFL’s First Superstar.

Red Grange’s Football Tour:

After playing in his final eight-game season for the University of Illinois, Grange played in the final two games of the Chicago Bears 1925 schedule:

11/26/25: Chicago Cardinals

11/29/25: Columbus Tigers

That was just the beginning. With Grange on the team, George Halas and the Bears went on a tour. It was a barnstorming tour with two parts. Here’s the first part.

Wednesday, December 2, at St. Louis All-Stars

Saturday, December 5, at Frankford Yellow Jackets (NFL game)

Sunday, December 6, at New York Giants (NFL game)

Tuesday, December 8, at Washington All-Stars

Wednesday, December 9, Providence Steam Roller (NFL game)

Thursday, December 10, Pittsburgh All-Stars

Saturday, December 12, Detroit Panthers (NFL game)

Sunday, December 13, New York Giants (NFL game)

Over 11 days, Grange and the Bears played eight games. At one point in the tour, they played six games in eight days. It was an insane schedule. The Bears had 20 players on their roster for these games. In those days, players played offense, defense, and special teams. Much to the disappointment of the fans in the stands, Grange did not play every minute of every game. The highlight of the tour was the December 6 game in New York. Attendance for the game was estimated between 65,000 and 70,000. Those were unimagined numbers for the NFL in the 1920s. The Bears won that game, 19-7. The crowd was thrilled when Grange returned an interception for a score to clinch the win. A frequently told story from this tour is from the stop in Washington D.C. Grange and Halas met President Calvin Coolidge at the White House. Illinois senator William McKinley made the introductions. “Mr. President, this is George Halas and Red Grange with the Chicago Bears.” President Coolidge responded by saying, “Young men, I’m very happy to meet you. I always did like animal acts.” 

During the Pittsburgh game, Grange injured his left arm while throwing a block on an interception return. It would impact his play for the final two games of this part of the tour. 

After a week of rest, Grange and the Bears continued their tour. The second part of the tour hit the south and west. 

Friday, December 25, 1925, at Coral Gables (FL) All-Stars

Friday, January 1, 1926, at Tampa (FL) Cardinals

Saturday, January 2, 1926, at Jacksonville (FL) All-Stars

Sunday, January 10, 1926, at New Orleans All-Southerns

Saturday, January 16, 1026, at Los Angeles Tigers

Sunday, January 17, 1926, at San Diego California All-Stars

Sunday, January 24, 1926, at San Francisco Tigers

Saturday, January 30, 1926, at Portland All-Stars

Sunday, January 31, 1926, at Seattle Washington All-Stars

Again, four days after completing an eight-game college football season, Red Grange played in his first NFL game for the Chicago Bears. Over two months, from 11/26/25 to 1/31/26, Grange and the Bears played 19 football games. Several of those games were on zero days rest. This was the 60-minute era. Players didn’t have the luxury of sitting and resting while the defense, offense, or special teams took the field. It was a 60-minute grind. It was a grind that Grange and the Bears did over and over again for two months. The only real break over those two months was the 12 days between the two parts of the barnstorming tour. At least it was a little time for Grange to rest his injured arm. The first part of the tour was mostly against NFL teams. The second part was mostly against “all-star” lineups. Those “all-star” teams might’ve been a little short on “stars” but they weren’t always a bunch of slappies. Stanford great and future Pro Football Hall of Famer Ernie Nevers played in the Florida games. University of Washington All-American George “Wildcat” Wilson played in the west coast games. 

Red Grange collected $125,000 for his first season as a professional football player. That was an unfathomable amount for the time. C.C. Pyle did alright for himself as well. In some respects, this initial business relationship had George Halas working for Grange and Pyle. Halas didn’t see as much take-home cash as his partners but he saw enough to keep his young team afloat during very difficult times. More important than profits for Halas and the NFL was the attention ignited by Grange and the insane barnstorming tour. Not every game was a sellout but every game brought much-needed attention to professional football. Some historians and pundits have said that Grange saved the NFL. I wouldn’t go that far but it was the first big step in the right direction for professional football. 

Post - Week 1 Minnesota Vikings Roster

An NFL roster is never really set. There’s the initial 53-man roster that’s set after the final trimmings. Then there’s often a variety of roster manipulations in advance of the first game. 

Post - Week 1 Minnesota Vikings 53 - man Roster

Offense (25)

Quarterback (3)

Kyler Murray

J.J. McCarthy

Carson Wentz

Running Back (3)

Aaron Jones

Jordan Mason

Demond Claiborne

Fullback (1)

Max Bredeson

Wide Receiver (5)

Justin Jefferson

Jordan Addison

Jauan Jennings

Tai Felton

Myles Price

Tight End (3)

T.J. Hockenson

Josh Oliver

Gavin Bartholomew

Offensive Line (10)

Christian Darrisaw

Donovan Jackson

Blake Brandel

Will Fries

Brian O’Neill

Ryan Van Demark

Caleb Tiernan

Joe Huber

Trevor Keegan

Nick Samac 

Defense (25)

Defensive Line (6)

Jalen Redmond

Levi Drake Rodriguez

Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins

Caleb Banks

Domonique Orange

Elijah Williams

Outside Linebacker (4)

Andrew Van Ginkel

Dallas Turner

Bo Richter

Chaz Chambliss

Linebacker (4)

Blake Cashman

Eric Wilson

Ivan Pace Jr.

Jake Golday

Cornerback (5)

Byron Murphy Jr.

Isaiah Rodgers

Chuck Demmings

James Pierre

Zemaiah Vaughn

Safety (6)

Harrison Smith

Josh Metellus

Jay Ward

Theo Jackson

Jakobe Thomas

Jacob Thomas

Special Teams (3)

Kicker (1)

Will Reichard

Punter (1)

Brett Thorson

Long Snapper (1)

Andrew DePaola

***

After an offseason of wondering, it’s so great to see Harrison Smith on the roster. 

Until the next tweak, the above is the Minnesota Vikings 53-man roster. 

Minnesota Vikings Week 1 Superlatives

For nearly three-quarters of the game, the Minnesota Vikings did all they could to hand the Green Bay Packers a season-opening win. Over the final 20 minutes, the Vikings offense scored 29 points and the defense overwhelmed Jordan Love and the Packers offense. It made for a ridiculous, improbable 39-22 Vikings win. Here are some of the players that made thrilling win possible. 

Offensive Player of the Game

Justin Jefferson, WR

Justin Jefferson is the best receiver in the league. When the Vikings offense needed a play, it was Jefferson that provided one. For six years, that’s often been the case. 

8 catches

92 yards

2 TDs

1 2-pt Rec

Jefferson scored the Vikings first touchdown of the game and the last. 

Honorable Mention:

Carson Wentz, QB

The play of Carson Wentz has to be acknowledged. Packer stupidity and dirty play took out starting quarterback Kyler Murray with a concussion before the first quarter was done. That put Wentz on the field. His lack of practice snaps showed as he struggled with accuracy throughout the game but he made the plays he had to make. His gritty play guided an unlikely comeback. Three touchdown passes, no turnovers. 

Defensive Player of the Game

Dallas Turner, OLB

Entering his third season, a lot was expected of Dallas Turner. He was ready for this opportunity. The draft day-trade of Jonathan Greenard showed that the Vikings knew he was ready. Against the Packers, Turner showed that he was ready. 

10 QB Pressures

4 QB Hurries

4 QB Hits

1 Sack 

1 Forced Fumble

There weren’t a lot of Vikings players that played well throughout the game. Dallas Turner was one player that did. 

Special Teams Player of the Game

Myles Price, Returner

Myles Price showed last year as an undrafted rookie that he has some pop as a returner. His 68-yard, third quarter return was a spark the Vikings desperately needed. It gave the offense a short field and set up Carson Wentz’s 16-yard touchdown toss to T.J. Hockenson. That brought the Vikings to within five points of the Packers. 

Kick Returns:

5 returns

179 yards

Punt Returns

1 return

13 yards

The only thing missing from Myles Price’s 18 games as the Vikings returner is a touchdown return. I thought that he was going to get it yesterday but it’s coming.