The Chicago Bears were bad on Monday night. The Minnesota Vikings were somehow even worse.
Even during a season in which quarterback injuries and poor play by many healthy QBs has led to some bad NFL games, particularly in prime time, the Chicago Bears' 12-10 win over the Minnesota Vikings was an especially brutal watch. Say this much about the Bears: They did put together one game-winning drive when they needed it.
Justin Fields hit a huge 36-yard pass to D.J. Moore with 55 seconds left, one of the first deep passes he hit in a night of conservative and bad offense. That set up a go-ahead 30-yard field goal with 10 seconds left.
The Bears (4-8) ended their streak of consecutive NFC North losses at 12 after Fields led the offense on a 10-play, 66-yard drive in the final 2:12 to take the lead for good.
Wins are important, but the way Monday's victory played out leaves the Bears searching for plenty of answers as they head into their bye week.
Chicago's offense was stuck in neutral after a game plan that relied heavily on screen passes struggled to capitalize off the extra possessions it received from the Bears' defense, which came away with four turnovers for a second straight game.
Fields did enough to lead his team to a win, but lingering questions about his long-term viability in Chicago will remain.
The Bears held decisive advantages over the Vikings in total yards (119-to-minus 7), first downs (7-0) and time of possession (14:46-1:39).
The defense continued to assert its dominance as Jaylon Johnson intercepted an underthrown pass intended for Jordan Addison and returned it 20 yards. But the offense failed to pick up a first down and the Bears were forced to punt.
The defense followed with a second straight interception as Jaquan Brisker picked off a Dobbs pass that caromed high in the air off Addison's hands at the Bears' 35. But the offense was once again unable to capitalize on the turnover.
The game plan in the first half looked like it was devised precisely as an audition for Fields, frequently dropping him back in the pocket against the aggressive and unorthodox pressures directed by Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores. Fields went 12 for 12 for 100 yards in the first quarter and while he took three sacks on the night he never made a bad throw while finishing 27 for 37 for 217 yards.
When Flores sent a zero blitz with seven rushers on fourth-and-10 from the Minnesota 38 on the last play of the first quarter, Fields managed to find tight end Cole Kmet sneaking uncovered over the middle for a 22-yard gain. That set up the first field goal by Santos, who missed a 48-yard try on the first drive.
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