CHICAGO, Ill. — With Thanksgiving around the corner, the Minnesota Vikings were in a giving mood against the Chicago Bears, and it likely cost them a shot at the NFC North lead.
Kirk Cousins threw two interceptions, including a pick six, Dalvin Cook fumbled in the red zone, and the Vikings failed to take full advantage of three Bears turnovers in a 25-20 losing effort.
The post-bye battle resembled the infamous 2016 clunker at Philadelphia, which sent them spiraling. It’s yet to be determined how the Vikings will respond to a thorough defeat at the hands of the division’s surprise pace setter.
After clawing back within one possession at 14-6 midway through the fourth quarter, Cousins threw an interception into triple coverage on the first play of the Vikings’ drive that safety Eddie Jackson returned for a touchdown. Chicago added its second two-point conversion of the game to make it 22-6 and virtually wrap up the win.
Aldrick Robinson caught a touchdown late in the fourth quarter, and the Vikings added a two-point conversion, but Bears kicker Cody Parkey — a week after missing multiple kicks — hit his third field goal of the night to ice it on the ensuing drive. Stefon Diggs caught another touchdown with under a minute to go to pull the Vikings within a possession again, but Dan Bailey’s onside kick failed.
Aside from the Bears final field goal drive, the Vikings defense locked down in the second half to give the offense a shot, which didn’t seem possible when the Vikings trailed 14-0 at halftime.
Anthony Harris’s second interception of the night and Harrison Smith’s fumble recovery gave the Vikings two short fields, but both times they were forced to settle for Dan Bailey field goals as drives sputtered thanks to poor protection and some questionable decision-making. Those six points off turnovers were canceled out quickly by Cousins’ interception to Jackson.
The Vikings were in an uphill battle the entire second half thanks to a miserable first half on both sides of the ball.
Cousins missed an open Stefon Diggs in the end zone for a potential touchdown, which preceded Cook’s fumble in the red zone. It was a downfield throw on which Cousins has typically been accurate, but in his first cold-weather test with the Vikings, Cousins’ accuracy dissipated. He finished 30 of 46 with 262 yards and two touchdowns, but most of the yardage came against a laxer defense in the fourth quarter.
Defensively, the Vikings let the Bears run it 23 times at 5.0 yards per carry for 115 first-half yards, allowing them to control nearly two-thirds of the time of possession. Trubisky gave them fits early on with 37 yards on his first four scrambles. Chicago mysteriously went away from the run while leading in the second half, but their first half success was enough to build a double-digit lead.
Khalil Mack — meeting the Vikings for the first time as a member of the NFC North — left a lasting impression. Not only did he force Cook’s fumble, but he impacted three of Cousins first-half passes by beating Vikings’ linemen to the outside. Perhaps flustered by the perpetually closing pocket, the Chicago native Cousins had several dangerous throws that were nearly intercepted because of a deflection or miscommunication with a receiver.
His final throw of the half was airmailed over Kyle Rudolph and picked off by Adrian Amos, taking away Minnesota’s chance at pre-halftime points. It was the first of two picks that will put the quarterback under fire heading into a rematch with the Packers next Sunday night.
Stay tuned for locker room reaction and more coverage from Soldier Field.
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