Final Score: Bears 19 Vikings 17
The Bears took home yet another dramatic W this Sunday, this time in the fashion of a walk-off Cairo Santos 48-yard field goal. This was Chicago’s second win via last-second field goal, the first coming from Jake Moody’s 38-yard kick against the Commanders.
Chicago led for nearly the entire duration of the game, but surrendered the lead with just 50 seconds remaining. To deter a collapse eerily similar to that of Week 1’s Bears-Vikings matchup, kick returner Devin Duvernay and kicker Cairo Santos saved the day with a 56-yard kick return and 48-yard game-winning field goal, respectively.
The offense never quite found its groove. The team is not playing anywhere near the fullest of its capabilities, but it somehow manages to keep adding to the win column. With this win kicking the record up to 7-3 coupled with Detroit’s loss in Philadelphia, Chicago now sits alone atop the NFC North.
Bright Spots
Caleb Williams’ Escapability is an Elite Skill
Caleb Williams’ stats didn’t jump of the page this week. Although there is still a lot to improve with this offense, Caleb’s counting stats again short-changed his influence on the game. Specifically, his ability to evade sacks needs to be studied. With the tendency to hold onto the ball for too long and take far too many unnecessary sacks being William’s main deficiency in his rookie season, he clearly did some soul-searching in the offseason. In a complete 180, the Bears have taken the 6th-least sacks in the NFL up to this point.
In addition to the counting stats, the eye-test is extremely telling. Every week now, there are a handful of plays that leave the entire stadium wondering how the quarterback escaped evaded the sack. This week, the strongest example came early in the second half. Vikings safety Jay Ward exploded off the line on a blitz attempt, completely unblocked. Williams did his, now signature, spin move to evade the sack and ended up grabbing 6 yards on the scramble. This is a real, tangible skill that Williams now consistently has in his tool bag.
Run Game is For-Real
Similar to Caleb Williams’ escapability, the Bears rushing attack has shown consistency for long enough that it can now be considered the norm. Ben Johnson has revived the run game and propelled it to the top of the line in the NFL. The Bears added another 140 rushing yards onto its season total this week, including 90 from D’Andre Swift and a touchdown from Kyle Monangai. Chicago now sits at 3rd in the NFL in rushing yards, and 6th in yards per carry. This is an elite rushing attack.
Glaring Issues
Pass Rush Was Quiet
The biggest issue for the Bears right now is the pass rush. This week, the defense scrounged up a grand total of zero sacks and only 9 pressures. The Vikings have allowed the 5th-most sacks this year, so it’s concerning that the Bears still were not able to get anything going in terms of a pass rush. Second-year defensive end Austin Booker is showing flashes, luckily. If he could start forcing some consistent pressure, the Bears defense would look a lot different.
Standout Performers
Tight End Tandem – Cole Kmet and Colston Loveland
The tight ends were active in the Twin Cities this week. Kmet and Loveland combined for 85 yards and 8 catches. Kmet led the team with 5 catches. Both TEs graded out fantastically on PFF, ranking 6th and 7th among all tight ends in Week 11.
Devin Duvernay
Duvernay is probably the main reason that the Bears don’t sit at 6-4 right now. After losing the lead with only 50 seconds remaining, the Bears need a big play. Duvernay’s clutch 56-yard kick return nearly placed the Bears into field goal range before the offense even touched the ball. His big-time play made it so Chicago didn’t have to rely on Williams to lead another dramatic two-minute drive down the field. After Duvernay handed the offense the ball on Minnesota’s 40-yard-line, three running plays for 9 yards were enough to satisfy Ben Johnson. Cairo Santos did the rest.
Grady Jarrett
Although the defensive line is a weak point, I wanted to point out that veteran DL Grady Jarrett had the best game of his season thus far. Jarrett, who has been dealing with injuries all year long, was responsible for 4 out of the defense’s 9 pressures of J.J. McCarthy. He doubled his personal 2025 pressure count from 4 to 8. Although his performance was far from record-breaking, this was one of the first games that I’ve noticed him in. Hopefully he can build off of this showing.
Key Drive of the Game
Independent of situation, Chicago’s first touchdown drive was the most impressive of the game. The possession ate up a whopping 8 minutes and 25 seconds of game time. The Bears methodically took 15 plays to march 74 yards down the field. The coolest thing about this drive was that everybody got involved. RB D’Andre Swift was given several rushing attempts, both TEs in Cole Kmet and Colston Loveland had catches, WRs Luther Burden III and DJ Moore both had touches, and RB Kyle Monangai secured the touchdown. The only weapon that didn’t get the ball was WR1 Rome Odunze, who still received an endzone target.