Bears and Vikings In-Game Blog: VIkings 27, Bears 12 4th

Reporting and analysis on Monday Night Football in the game between the Bears and Vikings as Caleb Williams tries to help Chicago break a seven-game losing streak.

Sam Darnold tries to escape the pass rush of DeMarcus Walker in the first half of Monday night's Bears-Vikings game. / Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images

Fourth Quarter

Moore wasn't open but Williams threw it to him anyway for an incompletion. Vikings 27, Bears 12

• Bullet to Allen for the TD from 16 over the middle. But a Vikings penalty gives them the chance to go for 2 from the 1. They are so bad from the 1 that it seems unlikely they'll get it.

• Odunze dropped a touchdown. Should have been caught on second down but the third-down pass was well overthrown to Allen, who wasn't open. Williams has been spotty as a passer all night. Playing like he always does on the road.

• Bears took over at the 28 and Williams found Allen at the 16 on the run outside the pocket.

• Dominique Robinson of all people broke through and blocked the punt out of bounds. Bears get the ball back in Vikings territory.

• T.J. Edwards with a drive-killing blitz and sack in the A gap. Bears get the ball back. They've been calling timeouts so they have none left with 6:17 left.

• Jones chewing up clock with runs now. Cameras caught Williams on the bench and he looks very uncomfortable, like he is hurting. Wouldn't be surprising if he had a rib injury or bad bruise on his abdomen from the hit he took earlier while throwing.

• Two short passes to Moore and the Bears are in another third-down situation On third-and-3 Williams gets sacked by rookie Dallas Turner, who beat Darnell Wright like he didn't have feet. Bears punt.

• Akers scores on the 1-yard run off right tackle. He ran through Tyrique Stevenson and Zacch Pickens couldn't hold him back from the goal line when he wrapped. Stevenson hurt now. Vikings 27, Bears 6

• Stevenson called for pass intereference in the end zone on an intereception. Sweat also called for roughing Darnold and the hit was no worse than what Williams took earlier. Stevenson's penalty was a nice flop act by Addison but a good one. Vikings at the 1.

• A 21-yard screen to Jefferson gets the Vikings back in business again. Officials waved off a penalty call on O'Neill for being downfield blocking but on the replay he appears to be 3 yards past the line of scrimmage which really was a penalty.

• A 39-yard Santos field goal gets them back to two scores. Williams took a big hit on the incomplete pass. Vikings 20, Bears 6

• Amegadjie adds to it by false-starting. Should have used Jake Curhan. Then Amegadjie gets flagged for being downfield illegally. on a play when Williams tried to make something happen and throw an incompletion.

• DJ Moore tightrope walking the sidelines to get the Bears in range for a TD. Have to question if he had control before he went out of bounds but they're at the 16. Williams overthrow on second down and it's third-and-11 at the 17.

Third Quarter

• An offsides and an 8-yard run by Swift got the Bears started on the drive to their 43. Bears then go hurry-up after a completion for 9 to Moore and Swift barrels ahead for a first down in Vikings territory. The offense isn't quitting. But they'll need to keep going hurry-up.

• Jones scores on a 1-yard run off right tackle. They didn't put in a center to play fullback and there weren't any holding penalties. they just put it in the end zone. Vikings 20, Bears 3

• Jefferson gets a with a tough catch and then taunts but gets away with it. Jake Martin down on the play. That's two edge rushers they lost, but he seems OK. Vikings have a first down at the 1.

• T.J. Edwards lays out Jones. That's enough of that running wide stuff. Wiped him out.

• Two Aaron Jones runs for a first down to the Bears 31. Dominique Robinson surfaces with a rare tackle. Of course, it was 15 yards downfield on a run. Taylor got hurt on the play. Bears defense has finally started to crack.

• They went to Hockenson and it was incomplete but Byard got flagged for pass interference at Bears 48.

• Edmunds blitz forces a second-down incompletion and the Packers face third-and-7. Where's Hockenson?

• Another throw underneath that Hockenson turns into a big gain and it's third-and-3. They can't come up fast enough to cover him. Then he drills Hockenson for 4 yards and the third-down conversion.

• First down Minnesota called for illegal use of hands. They're a little late on that call. Lousy call. Makeup call but it doesn't make up for it.

• Williams was obviously facemasked before throwing an incompletion. Right in the open in front of an official and his head snapped around when it happened but no call. Two straight incompletions and the Bears settle for a Cairo Santos 29-yard field goal. Vikings 13, Bears 3

• They put him back in at fullback after Swift ran to the 1. Amegadjie gets called for the hold. The Bears were at the 1 and they've managed to screw this up just like when they played the Colts and the Commanders at the goal line.

• No touchdown. Kramer didn't report to the officials. I think I can speak for everyone who follows the Bears when I say that they don't need to put him in the backfield again.

• Swift breaks an inside run outside and drives through a tackler for a first down at the 18. Then more tough running by Swift as he bounces outside and drives to the 1-yard line. Time for Doug Kramer. And he's in at fullback. It works as Swift follows Kramer's block for the 1-yard TD with 8:19 left in the third quarter.

• A free play for Greenard being offsides. Williams burns them with a completion to Rome Odunze all the way to the Vikings 28.

• Swift again smeared at the line while Amegadjie loses his helmet on the play. The zero gain on first down is not helping Williams.

• Vikings face third-and-3 at the 12. Blitz comes up the middle on Darnold and he has to throw it well beyond Jefferson and nearly gets picked by Kyler Gordon.

• Another Taylor punt downed inside the 10. The guy does as much as the defense to keep the Bears in games. Then Darrell Taylor very nearly gets a defensive TD by batting down a Darnold pass. Second-and-10 at the 5.

• Williams on third down rushes a throw past wide-open Allen at midfield. Bears will punt.

• Williams' best pass of the game, hitting Allen in the cover-3 beater along the sidelines.

• Teven Jenkins' holding penalty starts the Bears off in a big hole.

• Josh Blackwell with a nifty return up the sideline but there was an illegal block on the 24-yard return. The detected Terell Smith with block in the back.

• Walker nails Darnold as he throws for an incompletion. Walker is all over the place in this game. Bears to receive a punt. But before they do, they are called for a false start. So the punt will come from inside the 10.

• Third-and-15 after Hockenson prevented a Kevin Byard pick on a dumb throw by Darnold over the middle deep.

• A holding penalty on a running play when DeMarcus Walker was tackled has the Vikings backed up to start the half.

• After starting strong on third downs, the Bears defense faded badly at the end of the half and have given up 4 of 7. The offense is 0-for-5 on third down and 0-for-2 on fourth downs, which all adds up to a fat zero.

• While the Bears haven't looked as bad and hopelessly lost as last week, they have looked just like they did under Eberflus in many other games this year. Doesn't say much for the Thomas Brown coaching bid.

Second Quarter

• Bears with 63 yards rushing, 59 passing in the first half but two failed fourth-and-1 runs and a strip sack of Williams pretty much took care of their offense in the first half.

• Half ends after one of the more productive Bears plays of the half. Williams stepped back and downed th ball.

• Vikings settle for a field goal by Reichard from 31 yards. Vikings 13, Bears 0

• Sweat with the sack for No. 5 1/2 on the year with 12 seconds left in the half but officials say he was in the neutral zone. Offsides. And the Vikings have no timeouts so the half would have ended without the offsides. Looked like a bad call.

• Kyler Gordon can't wrap Darnold up on the slot blitz and Darnold barely got off a push pass incomplete.

• Another third-down conversion by Hockenson and they stop the clock with a timeout again at the Bears 18.

• A Jones screen gains 4 and Vikings face third-and-14.

• Another completion to Hockenson and the Vikings are in scoring position at the Bears 39. A juggling catch at te 29 by Addison but Chris Williams delivers in the pass rush with a sack and the Vikings take a timeout with 49 seconds left in the half. passing over the middle to the other targets as Bears focus on Jefferson again.

• Of course the Bears can't cover the tight end. Hockenson for a 9-yard completion out of bounds, besides. Addison follows with a 7-yarder over the middle and the clock runs.

• Vikings face third-and-4 after a pass over the middle to Jefferson and take a timeout.

• Vikings drive starts at their own 29 with 2:35 left in the half. That's a killer. They could go down 17-0 at halftime and then give the Vikings the ball to start the half. Up to the defense again. False start on the Vikings. TWO-MINUTE WARNING!!!

• Bears going for it on fourth-and-1 after a nice screen to Moore picks up almost to the sticks. But Swift gets stuffed in the backfield. You can't give him the ball in short yardage. He's not a tough runner. It would be better to hand it to DJ Moore, a wide receiver. The Eagles let him leave in free agency because they like Gainwell's toughness as a runner after catching passes and on runs. Swift is a burner. He's good as a counter, not the main man. Bears paid him like a main back, though.

• Bears looking at third-and-6 after two short runs up the middle. Right on the edge of field goal range again and Amegadjie gets flagged for holding after nearly giving up a sack on a scramble for first down by Williams.

• COLE KMET LIVES! They finally threw him a pass. A boot pass and he goes up the sidelines to the Vikings 38.

• Nice play design with Odunze in motion and then blocking as an extra man for the run on first down for 7. Then Swift with two solid runs. They have been persistent with their running, not always successful but they won't give up.

• The Vikings went after the punt and clobbered Taylor. First down for the Bears. It was just running into the punter but he only needed about 4 for the first down.

• A three-and-out. Williams tries to scramble with no one open and the blitz coming up the middle. So Bears punt.

• Give Daniel Hardy credit for the pressure on the interception by Stevenson. The Bears go nowhere with Swift up the middle but they execute a nice one-man screen wide to Allen to set up third-and-4.

• Dumb gamble by Vikings and the Bears pass rush flushes Darnold out of the pocket and he gets picked off throwing into a stack of people along the sidelines. Tyrique Stevenson with the pick. Give the Bears pass rush and line credit. They stopped the run on that drive, then rushed the passer. Rush-and-cover approach worked but after they let Minnesota drive almost the length of the field.

• Vikings going for it on fourth-and-3 at the Bears 24.

• You don't see that every day. Smith blew coverage on Justin Jefferson at the 2-yard line and Jefferson dropped the sure touchdown.

• Jordan Addison beats Terell Smith badly, just like he did in Chicago. Ball at the Bears 40 for a first down.

• Easy third-and-12 conversion by Brandon Powell on a catch against the zone. Ford follows with a tackle on a run in the backfield. That's two good plays from the former Packers seventh-round pick.

• Bears defense hasn't given up yet. Jefferson got open against their zone but Darnold overthrew him and was lucky it didn't get picked. Third-and-12 now.

• Vikings with three short passes for first downs but the last one was completed after Cam Robinson's illegal formation. So it's back at the Vikings 38.

First Quarter

• Kevin O'Connell doing a sideline interview as plays are going on. That's how confident the Vikings are.

• Aaron Jones gets a first down on a short pass on third-and-17, making the Bears' prevent defense look the way most prevent defenses look. Quarter ends.

• Jonathan Ford, the 330-pound DT they signed away from the Packers gets in and helps DeMarcus Walker get a TFL and then Robinson false-starts so the Vikings are looking at third-and-long from deep in their own end of the field.

• O'Neill back on the field and Vikings start at their own 9 with a 10-0 lead. Cam Akers powers for 11 on first down to get the Vikings out of the hole and then they test Elijah Hicks covering Jefferson deep but can't connect. That was worth the gamble.

• Odunze can't get both hands on a rushed throw and Bears punt over the middle. Tory Taylor hits his season average at 48 yards with one inside the 10, his 24th inside the 20.

• Third-and-9 after a 1-yard Swift run they go back to Swift trying to run inside and of course he'll go nowhere. He's not an inside runner. Third-and-7.

• They take Swift out and have a tough run from DJ again in the backfield and another one from Homer before putting Swift back in. They needed to exert some force with the running game.

• Just a note on the Vikings helmets. Dumb.

• They should get Amegadjie out of the game and put either Larry Borom in there. They'll get Williams killed. If they had Roschon Johnson in pass blocking then at least they have someone who can do it but Travis Homer is really not big enough to stop a rushing linebacker or D-end.

• Jefferson wide open for the 7-yard TD after a completion to Addison for a first down. Vikings up the lead with 5:04 left as they take advantage of the strip-sack. Apparently it was supposed to be Jonathan Owens on the coverage because he was closest to Jefferson but it wasn't easy to tell. Looked like confusion. Vikings 10, Bears 0

• They got Jones on the third straight run for just a 1-yard run. Vikings right tackle Brian O'Neill, blocking on Montez Sweat got hurt and left.

• Too much faith put in Amegadjie, who didn't even lay a hand on Cashman as he hit Williams throwing the ball. Aaron Jones pummels the defense up the middle on two runs to the 17.

• Williams finally does something he hasn't been able to do until now. He threw away the ball when the Vikings had him for a sure sack. Then a dumb call on second down with Williams on a second-and-10 RPO run. Cashman whips Amegadie, who whiffs and a strip sack with the Vikings returning it to the Bears 39.

• Another short, quick screen, a pass to Rome Odunze for a first down. Well designed plays to beat the blitz so far from Thomas Brown.

• Williams with a Superman move, gets away from Andrew Van Ginkel and finds Swift near the sideline for the first down in Vikings territory at the 42.

• DJ Moore on the end around for 9 around the right side. That's where to run it, not behind a rookie who is nervous. Then Moore goes around left side out of the backfield like a running back. That was a play they intended for Velus Jones Jr. to run.

• Travis Homer back on kick return with DeAndre Carter out for the year. He made a good return to get it to the 30, where the Bears start their second series. The failed fourth-down run went behind Amegadjie, which probably wasn't wise.

• Bears defense looked nothing like they did against the 49ers on the first series. They more closely resembled the defense we saw in the Eberflus weeks this year, getting tough on the big downs.

• On third-and-5 from the Bears 34 the pass rush nearly gets home with DeMarcus Walker and Darrell Taylor forcing an incompletion. Reichard with the 52-yard field goal. Vikings 3, Bears 0

• Bears have pretty much assured themselves of trailing first for the 13th game.

• Thomas Brown gets like Matt Eberflus with dumb first-quarter gamble and goes for it at his own 39 and Swift can't get it. You need a runner who can run through tackles to do that. Swift can't.

• Third and 2 after a short pass to Allen and Caleb tries to scramble but comes up half a yard short. If he had run immediately he would have had it but hesitated. He talked about that during the week, about being able to know when to make a play.

• Four on first down up the middle for Swift on the first play is a big running play against that defense.

• Caleb Williams with the ball at the 30.

• Bears should have a good catching background with all the white in the stands as they receiver the kick in the "whiteout".

Pregame

• Kiran Amegadjie is reported as the starter for the Bears at left tackle. He has 36-inch plus arm length and good athleticism protecting Caleb Williams' blind side. He also has looked very overmatched in the limited reps in games he's had, especially at left tackle. You have to wonder how he'll perform with all of the dome noise and against the blitzing,

I am glad he is getting a chance to start for the rest of da season to see what we have in him 💯everyone know by now if u not stupid that Braxton Jones is clearly not a starting level LT in this league and is a swing T at best 3 years should be enough to show u that

— Big Cam (@TTS_CAM3) December 16, 2024

• Caleb Williams' biggest challenge tonight, playing on the road, where he hasn't been good (78.0 passer rating), against a pressure defense and with a rookie left tackle who didn't have training camp as he came off a surgery. Williams needs more big plays in this game than last week, when they didn't get a play longer than 17 yards. Williams needs to be on his wheels tonight. When he has scrambled well the Bears have managed to play effectively on offense.

Man, Jaylon Johnson rolling up to US Bank Stadium looking like Frank Lucas at the Ali vs. Frazier fight. #Bears pic.twitter.com/xjaTTkmoxW

— Jarrett Payton (@paytonsun) December 16, 2024

Twitter: BearsOnSI