Chicago, IL–If you watched the Chicago Bears on Monday Night Football in week 15, props to you for sitting through one of the ugliest games of the season. A week after losing to the Green Bay Packers on national television, the Bears returned to Soldier Field to take on Minnesota Vikings in another ugly game that was mirrored by inconsistency all across the board for Chicago on offense.
Rookie quarterback Justin Fields had one fumble on the evening but once again, the Bears failed to get any sort of rhythm established around the 11th overall pick, forcing Fields to once again play with desperation, doing anything to keep the Bears relevant. The Bears had five total redzone trips, with just one ending in a touchdown. Add in a missed field goal from Kicker Cairo Santos and the Bears were once again a dumpster fire throughout the evening.
What the Bears did do correctly was play hard-nosed on the defensive side of the ball. Rookie cornerback Thomas Graham Jr. was a pleasant bright spot who emerged in his first career start. Graham Jr. had seven tackles and three pass breakups, leading an already depleted secondary. Pass rusher Robert Quinn took yet another step forward with four total tackles and two sacks as the 11-year veteran looks to chase Richard Dent’s single-season sack record, which is currently set at 17.5.
From a numbers standpoint, the Bears had 24 total first downs and 370 total yards of offense, compared to Minnesota, which had just 193 total yards and 13 first downs. Despite sacking Vikings QB Kirk Cousins four times, what really hurt Chicago was seven total penalties, some of which could be considered questionable calls by the officiating crew.
With the Bears’ latest loss, Chicago has now lost 10 games on the season and has lost three total divisional games this season against NFC North opponents. Up next for the Bears is a road trip to the Pacific Northwest, where Russell Wilson and the Seattle Seahawks await.