A Bears Fan’s Reaction to the Week 12 Bears-Vikings
Photo Credit: Bruce Kluckhohn/AP
Well, that was the weirdest win that I ever thought would occur. This came after a Week 11 comeback loss to the Detroit Lions. On Nov. 28, the Chicago Bears had a close 12-10 win over the Minnesota Vikings. That win was also head coach Matt Eberflus’ first NFC North win as the Bears’ coach.
The problem is that it was quite possibly one of the ugliest Monday Night Football games the nation has witnessed. I love defense more than offense with how filled up the scoreboards get, but I prefer more of a healthy bland to go with a defensive performance.
Offense
The Bears offense was abysmal, to say the least. Inconsistencies left and right and far too many screenplays.
Quarterback Justin Fields had a quiet game. He had a total of 217 passing yards and no touchdowns. However, he did fumble the ball twice, both of which were recovered by the Vikings defense. Luckily for Bears fans, only one of those resulted in a touchdown. Fields also lead the team in rushing yards with a total of 59 yards. Running back Roschon Johnson also had a solid ground game with 35 yards off of 10 carries. Johnson also had 40 receiving yards off of five catches.
Wide receiver D.J. Moore had an amazing game with 11 catches for 114 yards. Unfortunately he didn’t score a touchdown, but then again the Bears offense never scored.
Defense
The defense had an amazing performance to catapult the Bears to a win. Defensive end Montez Sweat had 1.5 sacks and had a repeat performance from the last four weeks. The defense as a whole had two sacks. Besides Sweat’s contribution, safety Jaquan Brisker had 0.5 sacks on the day.
The zone defense was where the action occurred. The defense had a total of three interceptions on the day. Cornerback Kyler Gordon, Brisker, and CB Jaylon Johnson each had an interception against opposing QB Joshua Dobbs. Johnson nearly had a second interception but dropped it. That could’ve been a pick six that would’ve given the Bears a bigger lead. As I stated yesterday on X, Mike Lombardi has been very quiet since Sweat started getting sacks for the Bears. One of his worst takes ever and makes people remember that this was the guy who had one year as the general manager of the Cleveland Browns. Lombardi actually made the Browns worse in the short term.
The Bears now have a 4-8 record which is technically an improvement from last year. However, likely now they could be out of the race for WR Marvin Harrison Jr., that is unless general manager Ryan Poles can pull off a trade reminiscent of the trade for Moore. The way the defense played against a premier offense, could mean that Eberflus sticks around. However, offensive coordinator Luke Getsy has to go. The offense should be able to score if the defense keeps consistently giving them chances and that never occurred this time.
The Bears return home next week to take on the Detroit Lions. Let’s see if the Bears can get another win against a NFC North rival.
