The Minnesota Vikings had an opportunity to escape U.S. Bank Stadium with a win on a day when little seemed to go right. But a 56-yard kickoff return by Devin Duvernay put the Chicago Bears in position to win the game with a few positive plays, and Cairo Santos kicked a 48-yard field goal to defeat the Vikings, 19-17.
There were some bright spots, specifically on defense, for the Vikings. But this was a poor showing across the board. So even though victory was within their grasp, it’s hard to feel like the Vikings really deserved to win this game. They now sit at 4-6 with seven games to go.
Here’s the good, the bad, and the ugly from the Vikings’ loss to the Bears.
The Good, The Bad, The Ugly from the Vikings’ 19-17 loss to the BearsThe Good: The defense held strong
This wasn’t a perfect showing from the Vikings’ defense, as they allowed Caleb Williams to escape too many sacks and extend plays. But overall, the defense held strong, holding the Bears to 4.4 yards per play. Williams was only 16 of 32 passing for 193 yards, taking two sacks on the day. Chicago ran for 140 yards, but it took 39 attempts to get to that number (3.9-yard average). The Vikings didn’t force a turnover, but the defense did more than enough to give themselves a chance to win.
The Bad: J.J. McCarthy
We probably could have put J.J. McCarthy in the “ugly” category if not for his work on the Vikings’ 10-play, 85-yard touchdown drive to give them a 17-16 lead with 50 seconds left. His stat line wasn’t great (16 of 32, 150 yards, one touchdown, two interceptions), but his performance before the final drive was even worse than the stats suggest. McCarthy was dealing with a hand injury suffered in last Sunday’s loss to the Ravens, but this was the most concerning game of his young career.
The Ugly: Kickoff coverage
It may have felt like the Vikings left the Bears with too much time when they scored with 50 seconds left. With kickoff rules the way they are now, a touchback would give the Bears the ball at their own 35-yard line to begin their drive. Instead, Duvernay returned the kickoff to the Vikings’ 40-yard line, giving the Bears the luxury of running the ball three times to force the Vikings to burn their timeouts before sending Santos on for the 48-yard game-winner.
Had the Vikings adequately covered the kickoff, their defense may have been able to hold up against the Bears. Strategies change in those moments, but they had kept Williams in check all day. But they had their backs against the wall right as they took the field that final drive, ending a miserable day for everyone involved.