By Kevin Fishbain, Adam Jahns, Alec Lewis and Chris Licata
The Vikings won their seventh straight game on Monday with a decisive 30-12 victory over the Chicago Bears, pulling even with the Detroit Lions atop the NFC North standings at 12-2.
It wasn’t a pretty one, as the rivals combined for 19 penalties totaling 149 yards and struggled to consistently protect quarterbacks Sam Darnold and Caleb Williams. The Bears offense continued to look stagnant, particularly in the passing game, while the Vikings’ offensive stars — led by Aaron Jones’ 106 total yards and fifth rushing touchdown — did much of the heavy lifting on a night when Darnold didn’t quite have his A-game.
The NFC North race couldn’t be much tighter with three regular-season games to play. As the Packers sit two games back at 10-4, the division continues to track toward a winner-take-all Week 18 scenario between the Lions and Vikings at Ford Field. Detroit currently holds the tiebreaker having defeated Minnesota 31-29 in Week 7.
Darnold came back to earth
The Vikings walloped the Bears on Monday night, and they did it without Darnold’s best. He finished with 231 passing yards on 24-of-40 passing with one touchdown and one interception. Many of the incompletions were the result of his inaccuracy as Darnold sailed multiple passes toward the sideline and over the middle.
Some of his shakiness may have been a byproduct of a subpar performance in pass protection. Right tackle Brian O’Neill injured his knee in the first half, but Minnesota struggled on the other side, too, specifically left tackle Cam Robinson and left guard Blake Brandel. Darnold entered the game as the NFC’s reigning Offensive Player of the Week. He had not thrown an interception in over a month. His play fell back to earth.
There were multiple turnover-worthy plays, and he often progressed late over the middle. Eventually, Vikings head coach and play caller Kevin O’Connell geared into run-game mode, and Minnesota poured it on down the stretch. — Alec Lewis, Vikings staff writer
Bears outclassed in eighth consecutive loss
The Bears were no match for the Vikings. They were outplayed, outcoached, out-everything’ed. The Vikings looked like a playoff team, while the Bears looked like a team that was ready to start the search for its next head coach. It’s unfair to put all of Monday night’s mess on interim coach Thomas Brown. He was only the team’s passing game coordinator a few weeks ago.
A series of heartbreaking losses under the watch of former coach Matt Eberflus broke this team. Finding the best coach possible for Williams comes next for general manager Ryan Poles. That’s if president/CEO Kevin Warren stands by what he said and keeps Poles as his so-called “point person” for the search.
The Bears should interview Brown. It’ll help to hear him say what he feels went wrong this season, especially because players have praised him at various points. But Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson, Buffalo Bills offensive coordinator Joe Brady, Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive coordinator Liam Coen, Houston Texans offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik and Washington Commanders offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury should also be interviewed. — Adam Jahns, Bears senior writer
Another mostly forgettable game for Williams
There is no reason this offense with this collection of skill players in Week 15 should have only six points into the fourth quarter. Williams had a lot going against him Monday night — he didn’t have his starting left tackle, he faced a tough defense and did so in a challenging road environment. Williams made some of his impressive improvisational throws and had a nice fourth-quarter touchdown to Keenan Allen but didn’t have the type of game where, even in a loss, you could walk away feeling great about the future.
Williams is still the guy. He still has all the talent. But the Bears have a lot of work to do this offseason to fix the offensive line, and Williams himself can learn a lot from this season. The interception-less streak is now eight games, but so is Chicago’s losing streak as Williams passed for only 191 yards. — Kevin Fishbain, Bears senior writer
Vikings defense comes up big again
Brian Flores’ defense did what it does against young quarterbacks. On Monday night, Williams constantly looked flummoxed by what he was seeing. He threw for 191 yards on 18-of-31 passing with one touchdown. The score occurred late in the fourth quarter after the Vikings had taken control of the game.
The statistic of the night may be the Bears going 1-for-12 on third down. Williams often bounced around in the pocket, eyeing receivers downfield then trying to maneuver his way out of the pocket. The Vikings held Williams to 3 rushing yards on four carries. It helped that he had a hard time placing the ball accurately and that the Bears were without left tackle Braxton Jones.
The Vikings did not apply their usual pressure, but it didn’t matter in the end as they won thanks to their better coaching and on-field talent. — Lewis
