CHICAGO – The Bears had 10 days of good vibes following their Week 5 win over the Washington Commanders. They had 10 days to plan a Vikings team that would run around the drain.
None of that mattered Sunday, as the Bears lost 19-13 at Soldier Field in a game that quarterback Justin Fields left in the third quarter with a right hand injury. X-rays were negative and Fields will have an MRI on Monday to determine the severity of the injury.
On the field, the Bears defense had its best performance of the season and had a chance to go 2-4. But Fields and the offense remained stuck in neutral, and backup quarterback Tyson Bagent’s late interception sealed the Bears’ fate.
Here’s the account of a disheartening day at Soldier Field, where the outcome was secondary.
Passing offense
Whatever rhythm the Bears offense found against the Broncos and Commanders, Brian Flores and the Vikings quickly destroyed it.
The Bears knew the Vikings blitzed a lot, but Minnesota threw the Bears some curveballs they didn’t expect. This resulted in Fields being pressured on 23.5 percent of his dropbacks and sacked on 28.6 percent, according to TruMedia.
The Vikings did everything they could to take DJ Moore out of the game. Moore and Darnell Mooney combined for just two goals at halftime.
Fields went 6 of 10 for 58 yards and an interception before exiting with an injury to his right hand.
Undrafted rookie Tyson Bagent entered and was a mixed back. Bagent completed his first NFL pass to Velus Jones Jr., but was sacked two plays later. The Vikings recovered the fumble and scored the game-winning score.
Bagent shook off the strip sack and led a nine-play, 77-yard touchdown drive, going four-for-four for 55 yards. Bagent capped the drive with a 1-yard touchdown run on a quarterback sneak.
However, the good mood did not last.
Bagent had a chance to lead a game-winning drive, but he beat Moore and was picked off by Byron Murphy Jr. with two minutes left, cementing the Bears’ fortunes.
The Bears’ passing game on Sunday had no rhythm. The plan was strange and the protection poor.
Bagent should be commended for doing some good things while being thrown into the fire, but the Bears will need a lot more from him if Fields is forced to sit out an extended period of time.
Fields Grade: D
Bagent grade: C-
TEAM LEVEL: D-
Rushing offense
Without Khalil Herbert and Roschon Johnson, D’Onta Foreman got a chance to show the Bears what he could do.
Foreman ran hard on Sunday, rushing for 65 yards on 15 carries. He came close to breaking several big runs, but the Vikings defenders narrowly managed to score on him in the end. Foreman complained that he couldn’t get out of the tackles after the game.
Darrynton Evans rushed for 32 yards on nine carries, while Fields gained 46 yards on eight carries before leaving.
The Bears also showed a new wrinkle by starting Velus Jones Jr. in the backfield. Jones rushed twice for 15 yards.
The running game was adequate, but not as explosive as the last two weeks.
Grade: C
Pass defense
No, Justin Jefferson helped, but the Bears’ (almost) fully healthy secondary played pretty well on Sunday.
The Bears held Kirk Cousins to 181 yards (5.8 per attempt) and one touchdown. They didn’t beat Cousins, but they did a good job defending KJ Osborn and Jordan Addison (seven catches, 76 yards combined). Tight end TJ Hockenson caught six passes for 50 yards but was held relatively in check by a combination of Jaquan Brisker and Tremaine Edmunds.
The secondary’s only blemish was the two-minute drive they gave up at the end of the first half. Leading 6-3, Cousins led an eight-play, 77-yard drive capped by a 10-yard touchdown pass to Addison to extend the lead to 12-6 after a blocked PAT.
This single defensive breakthrough made the difference in the game. However, it was a positive sign that the Bears finally had a team under 20 points. They also get points for TJ Edwards’ strip sack, which Edmunds recovered – a pretty good day for the linebackers.
NOTE B
Run the defense
The Vikings entered the game as one of the worst rushing offenses in the NFL.
That trend continued Sunday as the Bears held the Vikings to 46 yards rushing on 22 carries.
This is probably the best performance by a Bears run defense since I started covering the team. (I won’t count the Commanders’ play since they didn’t pass the ball after the second quarter.)
Grade: A
Coaching
I can’t say Matt Eberflus had any glaring coaching issues today.
Luke Getsy’s offensive plan of attack has been disjointed, but that might just be because the Vikings were throwing things at them they weren’t prepared for.
Still, the lack of offensive adjustments is concerning.
Grade: C-
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