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On Monday night, the Chicago Bears were not good. In some ways, the Minnesota Vikings were even worse.
The Chicago Bears’ 12-10 victory over the Minnesota Vikings was particularly painful to watch, even in a season where quarterback injuries and subpar play by many healthy QBs have led to some bad NFL games, especially in prime time. Regarding the Bears, let’s say this: when it counted, they managed to put together a single drive that won the game.
With 55 seconds remaining, Justin Fields hit a huge 36-yard pass to D.J. Moore, one of his first deep passes of the night in an offensive performance that was both conservative and subpar. With ten seconds remaining, that set up a go-ahead 30-yard field goal.
With a 6-5 record, the Vikings entered the NFC playoff race in strong position. How long they stay in that race should be questioned based on Joshua Dobbs’ performance, which included four interceptions, and the offense’s overall performance on Monday night.
The Vikings lost the game more often than the Bears did, and it was a poor prime-time contest.
Joshua Dobbs comes out flat in Vikings
After the Vikings traded for him, Dobbs appeared to be a miracle worker for a few weeks. Whether the Browns made a mistake by trading him away or the Jets made a mistake by not trading for him, he served as shorthand for the errors teams committed in failing to address their backup quarterback position.
Then Dobbs produced one of the worst football halves a quarterback has ever played.
The second half’s tenth minute saw his first completion. He was 3 of 6 for nine yards, two interceptions, and a 16.7 rating when he threw his second interception, which was more on Jordan Addison for not catching it than Dobbs. Then, on Minnesota’s subsequent drive, he hit Bears cornerback Jaylon Johnson with a pass that was intended to be a pick-six.
He was just as horrible as the rest of the Vikings.
It was not really an advantage for the Bears. Even with 24 yards at the two-minute warning in the first half, the Vikings’ deficit was only 3-0. Late in the half, Dobbs finally completed a few passes, and Minnesota entered the red zone after a defensive pass interference call. However, he was immediately called for an intentional grounding penalty, which put an end to the drive. The Vikings managed to get a field goal at least.
Being tied 3-3 at the half seemed like a big win for Minnesota, especially considering how unimpressive the Vikings were as a unit and how awful Dobbs was playing.
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Vikings eventually triumph
When the Vikings went for it on a fourth-and-7 close to midfield early in the third quarter, it’s possible that they were a little desperate for a spark. The Bears took over on downs after they threw it a yard short of the first down and Bears cornerback Kyler Gordon shoved T.J. Hockenson out of bounds. It’s difficult to criticize Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell too much for trying to get anything going, given the way the offense appeared.
Though it’s difficult to pinpoint a low point in the Vikings’ appalling performance, Dobbs’ interception in the fourth quarter was appalling. Under duress, he became agitated and attempted to pass the ball short over the middle, but it wobbled out of his hands. Justin Jones, a defensive tackle, attempted to pick it off, but he batted it up into the air, where Gordon was able to intercept it.
And how did the Bears utilize that gift after that? Fields is lost in Viking territory, blundering away.
The Vikings were trying to give away a game that the Bears struggled mightily to win. Although Fields made a lot of passes, they were nearly all of short passes. The Bears were down just 10-9 when T.J. Hockenson finally scored a touchdown with less than six minutes left to give Minnesota the lead. Shortly afterward, though, Fields stumbled and the Vikings rallied.
After that, the Vikings might have had a field goal, but they needed a few more yards to have a chance on third down. Minnesota also lost yardage on that play when they threw a pass behind the line of scrimmage. That could have been the one thing that said it all about the game. Or maybe after Gordon went down in the fourth quarter, Dobbs missed Jordan Addison for an easy touchdown. Dobbs threw so far outside that Addison couldn’t stay in bounds to make the catch, even though Addison was open by ten yards.
In the final two minutes, the Bears had one more opportunity. They got the ball moving, but Fields made a few errors in his throws. On Monday night, third-and-10 wasn’t Chicago’s best situation, but Fields hit Moore for 36 yards, setting them up for a winning field goal attempt.
The Vikings’ loss was undoubtedly ugly, and the Bears’ victory was not particularly pretty either. In the games that followed Kirk Cousins’ injury, Minnesota appeared to be a shining success story. The defeat on Monday night was a harsh return to reality.