The Minnesota Vikings hoped to rebound on Monday night after last week’s disappointing loss to the Denver Broncos. Instead, Josh Dobbs and the Minnesota offense regressed, allowing the Chicago Bears to capture a 12-10 victory at US Bank Stadium.

Vikings’ Offense Stalls in the First Half

In reality, neither offense resembled a unit that wanted to win a football game. The game was a situation comedy without a laugh track. After the Bears’ nine-minute opening drive, the game devolved into a series of offensive turnovers or three-and-outs.

The Vikings’ first-half drives went as follows, four and out; interception; interception; four and out; and field goal. Minnesota’s first drive was halted by a Montez Sweat eight-yard sack of Josh Dobbs. This would be a continuing theme of the night as the Vikings right tackle Brian O’Neill simply had no answers all night for the aggressive Sweat.

Dobbs not Sharp

And the two interception returns both led to Chicago possessions in the Vikings’ end of the field. On the first one, Dobbs attempted to hit a streaking Jordan Addison down the left sideline. But Bears cornerback Jaylon Jones made a leaping grab to end Minnesota’s threat.

Later on, Dobbs threw a pass over the middle to Jordan Addison for an apparent first down, But the ball came out hot, bounced off of Addison’s hands into the waiting arms of Jaquan Brisker.

Vikings Tie the Game

The elusive Chicago quarterback, Justin Fields was having a heyday eluding tacklers and throwing from outside of the pocket all half. The Vikings’ defense stiffened when necessary and the Bears could only muster a Cairo Santos field goal in the first half. And surprisingly, despite all of the turnovers, the Vikings were able to tie the game just before half-time.

Sparked by two Dobbs completions and a pass interference call on Chicago, the Vikings were able to move the ball 52 yards on eight plays. This brought them all of the way down to the Bears 16-yard line. From there, kicker Greg Joseph connected on a 34-yard field goal as time expired to knot the game at 3-3 as the first half gun sounded.

Vikings’ Offense Still Sputters in Second Half

The second half started like a mirror image of what had occurred in the previous two quarters. The Vikings would turn over the ball on downs after Dobbs threw short of the sticks to T.J. Hockenson. Also interrupting the drive was another sack by Sweat with an assist from Brisker. Sweat once again beat O’Neill around the end to bring down Dobbs.

After the Bears’ Santos kicked a 39 yard-field goal to put Chicago ahead by three, the ugly turnover bug would strike Dobbs again. First, Minnesota running back Alexander Mattison would spark the offense with some opportunistic runs and Dobbs would complete a couple of passes that brought the ball down to the Bears 44-yard line.

More Dobbs’ Turnovers

Vikings

Gervon Dexter Sr. (99) of the Chicago Bears wraps up Joshua Dobbs (15) of the Minnesota Vikings. – Adam Bettcher/Getty Images

 

But on fourth and three, Dobbs threw a bullet to a diving K.J. Osborn who deflected the ball right into the hands of Chicago’s’ Tremaine Edwards. Another lost Vikings opportunity.

The Bears made the most of this takeaway driving 32 yards in eight plays culminating in a Santos 55-yard field goal to extend the Chicago lead to six. Then, the football gods would once again punish the Minnesota offense.

On the fifth play of the Vikings’ ensuing drive, Dobbs attempted to hit fullback C.J. Ham on a short pass over the middle. Instead, the ball was juggled by Chicago defensive tackle Justin Jones and eventually intercepted by the Bears Kyler Gordon. Chicago would once again take possession of the ball in excellent field position.

No one could fault the Vikings defensive unit if they sued their offense for non-support after the gifts the latter gave to the Bear’s defense all night. The Vikes defenders sometimes bent, but rarely broke. Credit Brian Flores’ unit for rising to the occasion numerous times when their backs were up against the wall. And one of those occasions would occur on the next Chicago possession.

Vikings Strike Back

On second and ten from the Vikings 22-yard line, Fields was strip sacked by Minnesota edge Danielle Hunter and the ball was recovered by Sheldon Day at the Minnesota 23-yard line. Credit Hunter for having a monstruous game contributing nine tackles and one and a half sacks to the Vikings cause.

And the Vikings took advantage of this opportunity on their next drive. Dobbs was sharp on this drive hitting Addison, Hockenson, and Brandon Powell for some significant gains throughout the drive. And the march was capped off with a 17-yard strike over the middle to Hockenson to put Minnesota up 10-9. Could they actually pull this one out of the hat? Flores’ defense would certainly do their part.

On third and ten from the 36-yard line, Fields scrambled up the middle for a six-yard gain. At the Vikings 43-yard line, Minnesota’s Josh Metellus would strip the ball from Fields and newly arrived linebacker Anthony Barr would recover the ball on the spot.

Conservative Play Kills Vikings

Vikings

DJ Moore (2) of the Chicago Bears catches a pass during the third quarter against the Minnesota Vikings. – David Berding/Getty Images

 

But for some reason at this point, the aggressive Kevin O’Connell offense went conservative as they went three and out and were forced to punt the ball away. Vikings punter Ryan Wright would shank a 26-yard punt and the Bears would have one more chance to win this topsy-turvy game.

And now it was the Vikings’ defense’s turn to play conservatively. Instead of applying the constant pressure that they are known for, they went into a prevent style defense and they paid for it. With Minnesota sometimes only rushing three players, Fields had the time to find his receivers.

The big plays in the drive were two Fields to DJ Moore connections for 16 and 36 yards. On fourth and nine from the Vikings 12-yard line, Santos was sent in, and he promptly kicked a 30-yard field goal to put the Bears ahead for good 12-10. Two plays later, the game was over.

Bright Spots and the Raiders

Looking for bright spots in the loss. Once again, Metellus would shine from his hybrid position as he recorded nine tackles and a partial sack during the contest. Fellow safety Cam Bynum had another outstanding game as well with eight tackles to his credit. Linebacker Ivan Pace also added nine tackles.

But the Vikings did get some good news at the start of their bye week. Star receiver Justin Jefferson was activated off of the injured list after missing seven games with a hamstring injury. Coach O’Connell indicated the starting quarterback job was up for grabs and it would be somewhat dependent on who meshed well with Jefferson. Minnesota next plays the Raiders in Las Vegas on December 10.