The Chicago Bears came off their mini-bye flat against the Minnesota Vikings in Week 6. The Bears gave their fanbase faint hope in their Week 5 blowout of the Washington Commanders on Thursday Night Football. They could not keep any momentum in a boring 19-13 loss to the Vikings.
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The Bears and Vikings came into the game with 1-4 records. Both teams looked bad on Sunday. However, the Bears looked much worse than a bland Vikings team missing their best player, Justin Jefferson.
Nothing is exciting about what the Bears are bringing to the field on Sundays. The offense, with or without Justin Fields, is predictable. The defense is lifeless. One can’t blame the numerous Bears fans on social media who claimed to be changing channels near halftime.
Here are three studs and duds from the Week 6 loss.
Chicago Bears studs
D’Onta Foreman
The Bears’ top two running backs, Khalil Herbert and Roschon Johnson, were out against the Vikings with injuries. Foreman did well as the leadback for the Bears. He finished with 65 yards on 15 carries, averaging 4.3 yards per rush.
Foreman had some great carries on the Bears’ penultimate drive, which ended in rookie quarterback Tyson Begent’s first career touchdown. Foreman has been a healthy scratch for much of the season. He should get more opportunities as the season continues after his play against the Vikings.
Justin Jones
Jones had his best game of the season against the Vikings. He recorded seven total tackles and two tackles for loss. Jones was able to penetrate in the Vikings backfield to blow up runs.
The Bears have needed their interior defensive line to step up and get off blocks all season. Jones did that several times against a bad Vikings offensive line.
Chicago Bears run defense
The Bears defense does one thing well: Defend the run. The Bears kept the Vikings to 46 rushing yards on 22 attempts. The Vikings lead running back, Alexander Mattison, finished with 44 yards on 18 carries.
The Bears’ defense has allowed 491 rushing yards through the first six games. They have not allowed an opponent to run for 100 or more yards since the Kansas City Chiefs ran for 153 yards in Week 3.
Chicago Bears duds
The Chicago Bears offensive line
The Bears offensive line is a train wreck. The offensive line showed noticeable improvement against a stiff Commanders defensive line in Week 5. They struggled to block against a more complex blitz scheme by Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores, and they gave up five sacks.
The center position is making Bears quarterbacks look like infielders in postseason baseball right now. Fields and Bagent had to field multiple low and sky-high snaps from Cody Whitehair and Lucas Patrick out of the shotgun. How is that possible at the NFL level?
Bears quarterback play
Fields entered Week 6 hot off, arguably his best two-game stretch in his career. He followed that up, going 6/10 passing for 58 yards, and threw one interception. The interception was embarrassing.
Justin Fields with a disgusting interception
Vikings defense applied the pressure
pic.twitter.com/xElKZhF7x2— Sideline Daily (@sideline_daily) October 15, 2023
Bagent gave up a fumble that was returned for a touchdown on his first drive. His next two drives ended in a turnover on downs and a punt. Bagent led the Bears offense on an impressive 77-yard drive to make the game a one-score game in the fourth quarter.
Bagent’s next drive looked promising until he underthrew a deep pass intended for D.J. Moore that was intercepted. Clutch drives ending in interceptions are commonplace for the Bears, whether Fields is under center or Bagent.
Luke Getsy
Getsy’s play-calling didn’t fool the Vikings on Sunday. The Bears went run-heavy against a defense that was all too happy to play the blitz against a bad offensive line. The Bears called several screen passes against cornerbacks that were on the line.
The Bears didn’t get D.J. Moore involved in the offense until the second half. Moore finished with five receptions on eight targets. That’s not enough touches for the Bears’ best offensive player.
If Moore isn’t getting the ball, Fields typically looks like a bust. Getsy has to find ways to get Moore the ball.
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