Bear Digest

Bears and Vikings In-Game Blog

Live updates and analysis in Sunday's final game of the season between the Bears and Vikings, two teams whose head coaches could be done after this season.

Gene Chamberlain

Fourth Quarter

  • Zimmer has them take a knee. Season over for the Bears. Matt Nagy's fate awaits.
  • A third-down sack as Larry Borom is embarrassed and Dalton dumps it off on fourth down. Of course they don't get close to the first down. Vikings have the ball at Bears 31 trying to get the Vikings single-season receiving record for Jefferson, but the first-down run to the 23 makes it look like they may not get it with 40 seconds left.
  • TWO-MINUTE WARNING!!!!
  • It's just as well. It's easier to feel good about firing the coach when he hasn't won three straight games, refuses to take field goals to put his opponent in a catch-up situation, and makes bad fourth-down calls.
  • Dalton roughed on a completion to Mooney so Bears are at the Vikings 49. Another inteception when he's hit as he throws. Daniels beaten on the pass block.
  • Bears kept failing to pick up third downs and kept getting in fourth-down situations and appropriately they have lost the game on a fourth-down interception. Earlier they got sacks on fourth-down gambles.
  • Bears facing fourth-and-1 and Peterson picks off throw by Dalton and takes it back for a touchdown. He had no one open and the rush bearing down. Dazz Newsome wasn't open. Vikings 31, Bears 17
  • Harrison Smith gets a late flag for a hit on an incompletion to Mooney. It's a bad call but it's the same call they've made all year long so he'll have to live with it. First down at the 40. Apparently waved it off after because it was second down.
  • Mr. Dependable, Mooney, gets open squaring out to the sideline for the first down.
  • A 7-yard screen to Kmet but on second down they snuff out the run to Montgomery for nothing.
  • A 21-yard TD pass to K.J. Osborn. Vikings had forever to run that pass. Still 8:04 left in the game. My prediction was 24-16. So Bears got a point more than I thought. Good for them. Vikings 24, Bears 17
  • Cook breaks a big gainer off left tackle to the Bears 21.
  • Jefferson gets open on Eddie Jackson for the first down to the Vikings 45.
  • Vikings try the boot pass from down deep and nearly have it backfire from their 13. Cousins throws a floater nearly picked. Then Cook gets 5 and they face third-and-5 at their own 18.
  • Just a late-game reminder for Nagy on his way to whatever senior offensive assistant job he takes for next year, a field goal counts as three points and assists in your point total.
  • Overthrow of Robinson and they'll punt.
  • Sack on second-and-6 as Cody Whitehair is beaten. Bears in third-and-long and with no chance.
  • End around to Mooney and a pass to Mooney and the Bears are at their own 49.
  • Last year when the Bears were in Minnesota, Nagy had the common sense to take the field goals when needed and at the end of the game all the points added up to a win they needed for the playoff berth. This year he decided they had to have touchdowns. He can think about that after the season sitting in his room where the walls are papered with the 2018 game plans.
  • Tie game but if Nagy had simply taken the field goals earlier he would be winning 23-17.
  • Eddie Jackson blows the coverage on Justin Jefferson and Cousins hits him for a 45-yard TD pass. Jackson with a play like a college freshman would make. Bears most overpaid player. Vikings 17, Bears 17

Third Quarter

  • He goes after Burns again with a pass to Smith-Marsette to the Vikings 47. Pressure almost got to him. Quarter ends. 
  • Vikings in third-and-7 situation after a couple of short passes to Cook.
  • Santos from 42 yards. So easy. Right in the range where Cody Parkey missed.  Bears 17, Vikings 10
  • Incompletion and Nagy might take the field goal here on fourth-and-6. 
  • They set up a perfect screen to Williams against the blitz and it should have gone for a big gain but Williams ran into the downfield coverage and gained only 4. Third-and-6.
  • Montgomery with a rare drop.  Second-and-10. Bears could wind up in third-and-long here. 
  • Dalton flips it out to Montgomery just in time to beat a sack for the first down. Bears now at the Vikings 27.
  • An Allen Robinson sighting for 6 yards. Third-and-3
  • From the 42 Bears get a 1-yard Montgomery run and then Kmet gets into a crevice in the zone for a big gain to the Minnesota 38.
  • Bears should be leading 23-10. Nagy's refusal to take a field goal is maddening. 
  • Defense rises up and on third down Quinn with a sack, or maybe half a sack. On stat sheet looks like he's splitting that one with Bilal Nichols. That makes 18 1/2. He needs one sack to break his personal best of 19. Vikings punt.
  • He's sacked back at the 16. Nagy disdains a third field goal for the day. Wouldn't run it.  
  • TD reversed. Fourth-and-goal at the 1 and Bears going for it. 
  • Dalton scrambles for the TD with a good dive but his knee looked like it hit at the 1. That would make it fourth-and-goal at the 1.
  • Bears go empty backfield and predictably, the Vikings blitz the A-gap and Dalton has to throw it away. Third-and-goal at the 8.
  • They finally get a third-down conversion by going no-huddle and Mooney catches a pass going OB at the 7-yard line. He's 8 yards short of 100.
  • Two inside Montgomery runs leave the Bears in third-and-4 at the 20.
  • Patrick Peterson interferes with Mooney by grabbing him and Bears have first down at the Vikings 26.
  • Mooney jet sweep and a Montgomery run for the first down to the Bears 37 and finally after looking all day for him they find Cole Kmet on that play-action over the middle to the Vikings 43.
  • There's your answer for what the Bears need in the draft. If they don't draft a cornerback in round 2 then they're fools.  Burns looked like a fool falling down in coverage and leaving Smith-Marsette wide open. 
  • On third-and-13 after an incompletion over the middle, Ihmir Smith-Marsette beats Artie Burns, who fell down, for a touchdown.  Bears 14, Vikings 10
  • Quinn fell down on a TE screen but Alec Ogletree sniffed it out for a 3-yard loss.
  • They put eight guys on the line and Cook simply ran around left end on third-and-1 for 25 yards.
  • Vikings start from the 25.

Second Quarter

  • Vikings will settle for a 39-yard field goal to end the half. Bears 14, Vikings 3
  • Cousins completes a 40-yard pass on the run and Jaylon Johnson foolishly doesn't touch down the receiver. Eddie Jackson saves a TD at the 11 with 13 seconds left. Then Vikings called for holding with seven seconds remaining. Vikings actually had to hold Margus Hunt.
  • Finally a Vikings completion and they're at their 48 with 21 seconds left 
  • Bears 210 yards, Vikings 22. 
  • A-Rob on the shovel pass takes a big hit but gets in for two. Bears 14, Vikings 0
  • Looked like the same play but Williams got wide open around the coverage for a 27-yard touchdown pass. Bears decide to go for two.
  • Dalton can't throw on the run to save his life and underthrows Damien Williams in the end zone. Third-and-10 and 36 seconds left.
  • Goodwin gets the ball knocked out by Cameron Dantzler. Should have put the ball away. He held it up and where Dantzler could get it.
  • Byrd on a slant for 14 yards to Vikings 36 and clock is running. Clock keeps running after a 5-yarder to Byrd. Then Marquise Goodwin gets outside for the first down to the 23.
  • Vikings' Sheldon Richardson gets game's first flag. Looks like refs are going through the motions too.
  • TWO-MINUTE WARNING!!!!
  • From their own 45 Dalton throws for Kmet and he's not open at all. Dalton got a little panicky and threw it just as Kmet was starting to gain a step.  
  • Montgomery a little more patient gets 9 off left guard on first down then comes out but he's not hurt. Just lost his shoe. Then they get the first down on 3-yard Khalil Herbert where? Where else, right behind Jason Peters. 
  • Deon Bush slams down Mattison short of the first down after heavy pressure from blitzing DB Marqui Christian. Vikings punt again.
  • Vikings pinned back thanks to spectacular kickoff effort in coverage by Dazz Newsome, then face third-and-7 after a short completion outside. Play clock running down on Zimmer's team and he calls a timeout.
  • Bears fail at another third down from Vikings 28 with a deep incompletion to Mooney. Finally, Nagy puts in Santos. He'll try a 46-yarder. Bears 6, Vikings 0
  • Another big run behind Peters on the left side, and Whitehair too. Montgomery reaches Vikings 31 for a first down.
  • Mooney on a second-down pass of 18 yards and he's at 1,001
  • Bears 112 net yards, Vikings 15. But it's 3-0 thanks to Mr. Gambles.
  • Pass rush nails Cousins as he throws again and he puts up a duck but no one can reach it. Bears are taking advantage of double teams on Quinn to win one-on-one matchups elsewhere so far. After punt Bears start at their own 37.
  • Tonga and Roquan stuff up the middle on two Cook runs and it's third-and-7.
  • Another predictable fourth-down sack and the Bears get nothing for their efforts into the red zone. That was a play when Justin Fields might have run for a touchdown. Dalton stood looking forever and no one came open, then he tried moving left and was sacked. Should be 9-0 right now. It's 3-0. Three is more than zero and Nagy hasn't figured that out after four years. Another reason he should be going, just one one many. Maybe he thinks it's Arena League still and doesn't punt.
  • Another fourth down coming up at the Vikings 11 and Nagy has no thoughts about kicking a field goal. If he kicked it, and had kicked the other one, the Bears would be up 9-0. The guy has a serious problem with kickers.
  • Allen Robinson with a good sliding catch on a bad underthrow by Dalton and the Bears get to Minnesota 22.
  • A 19-yard pass to Mooney brings him within 17 yards of 1,000 yards on the year and Bears are on the move again. Then Dalton to Damiere Byrd to the Vikings 38 for a first down.
  • Bears held Cook to 9 rushing yards and Cousins to 10 passing yards in first quarter.

First Quarter

  • Marquise Goodwin with a rare contribution, catching a throw of 6 yards slanting in as the quarter ends. Three quarters to go in the Matt Nagy regime. 45 minutes. Bears 3, Vikings 0 
  • Two runs by Montgomery and the Bears are out to the 26.
  • There's a timeout ... on the field.
  • Punt goes OB around the 12 or 13, depending on where the official makes his complete utter guess about where it was OB as he runs along the sidelines with his arm up in the air.
  • Mario Edwards with a sack and Blackson strips the ball as he's falling to the ground, so Vikings are pushed out of field goal range. Bears must have been expecting Vikings to fake it or just go for it because they didn't have enough players on the field and there was confusion, so they wasted a timeout.
  • Blackson off the edge again saw a boot coming and Cousins had to throw it away. In the game up in Minny last year the Bears had that play figured out, as well. On second down Sam Kamara with a blitz smashes down Cook for a TFL. Third-and-13.
  • Dalvin Cook gets the first down on a third-and-1 run. At Bears 28
  • Mattison smashes Bears defense straight ahead for 9. Bears used to eat up those type of runs but Eddie Goldman hasn't been good this year. Bilal Nichols has been decent. Khyiris Tonga just a rookie.
  • Cousins converts to Justin Jefferson on third down, beating Artie Burns. At Bears 40.
  • Quinn hits Cousins as he throws and it's incomplete. They need to get him those two sacks.
  • Some YAC on a short throw to Mooney and it's fourth-and-5. Nagy going for it. There was line confusion just before the snap and the Vikings blitz sacks Dalton. Minnesota ball. Have to wonder why they had to go for fourth-and-5 at the 35. Maybe because it's the final meaningless game with two coaches being fired, but sound football is sound football. A good kicker makes a 52-yard field goal indoors for a 6-0 lead. Minnesota specializes in situations like that. Just an unwise gamble and now Minnesota has great field position. 
  • After Dalton threw it away on first down to avoid a sack, Herbert gets into the game and gets stacked up trying to run around right end for a loss of 1. Third-and-10.
  • Borom got beat on his block on third down and they failed to get the first down but Montgomery bulls through the line for a first down on fourth-and-1 to the 40 of Minnesota.
  • Ran on second down right behind James Daniels for 6. He's rated NFL's fourth best run blocking guard by Pro  Football Focus.
  • Dalton dumps down to Montgomery. He should have led Montgomery. He threw it a bit behind him and it resulted in only 3 yards for the gain. 
  • Dazz Newsome with a 23-yard punt return after he had a 28-yarder against Seattle when pressed into service. The Bears traded for Jakeem Grant and he's a free agent but if they don't have him next year then Newsome is a good punt return replacement. Then you have to wonder how Tarik Cohen fits into all of that if he returns from his torn ACL.
  • Third-and-a-long-1 and Blackson comes around looping with Trevis Gipson and gets the sack of Kirk Cousins. Vikings  punt.
  • Angelo Blackson starting for Akiem Hicks at left defensive end for the Bears. A short dumpoff to Dalvin Cook goes for only 3 but then he gets 6 on second down off left tackle. It's a good place to run because it occupies Robert Quinn with something besides pass rush.
  • You don't want to be in third-and-7 against the Vikings, even in the depleted state of their defense because they know how to defend that. Incompletion forces a Bears field goal and Cairo Santos connects from 43 yards. Maybe if Nagy had healthy Santos kicking in 2018 he isn't worried about his job now because he also has a playoff win to his credit. Eight plays, 39 yards. Bears 3, Vikings 0
  • Drive bogging down with a 3-yard run off right tackle and a rollout incompletion by Dalton. He shouldn't be throwing rollout passes.
  • After a 5-yard  Montgomery run, Mooney slanting in caught a throw and took it to the Vikings 28. He needed 71 yards coming in to get to 1,000.
  • Jason Peters just keeps on blocking the run. He has had a great year for a 39-year-old tackle. Opened a good hole for Darnell Mooney on an 11-yard end around to start things.
  • Nice blocking for Herbert on the opening return and the Bears will start their first drive from the 37.
  • Bears receiving.

Pregame

  • Lots of sentiment on the inter-web about getting Vic Fangio back to team with Jim Harbaugh. One person the Bears should look at getting back is Ed Donatell. Their defensive backs haven't pursued the football the same way since he left as defensive backs coach to be Fangio's defensive coordinator in Denver.
  • Matt Nagy: "...we'll have a little fun out there," on offense. That's what he said Friday. Wouldn't it have been good to have fun the rest of the four years?
  • Ian Rapoport of NFL Network says Matt Nagy is "likely out" after today. Nothing new here yet. Everyone in Western civilization said as much and Rapoport's report before last week's game was more definitive than this. Also says all signs "point to" Mike Zimmer's last game. When you consider Zimmer has been in Minnesota eight years, has never had consecutive losing seasons and now has and appears likely to be out finally, but that Nagy required one losing season to be fired, it makes the Bears look like they have no patience. This couldn't be further than the truth, though. When you're the hot offensive genius, you better be able to turn around an offense instead of driving it into a ditch.
  • Will Zimmer get another coaching job? He probably has a better chance than Nagy. The Illinois State grad has never won less than seven games, always has his defense ranked near the top on third downs, has had three playoff berths and a division title as well as a playoff win and berth in the NFC championship game.
  • The Vikings won't have Eric Kendricks due to the COVID-19 list and Michael Pierce, who is over COVID but unable to play yet. That's two huge parts of their run defense, which hasn't been really good anyway (ranked 27th).

INACTIVES

Bears

  • RB Ryan Nall
  • DB Duke Shelley
  • T Elijah Wilkinson
  • T Lachavious Simmons 

Vikings

  • QB Kellen Mond
  • CB Mackensie Alexander
  • CB Kris Boyd
  • RB Wayne Gallman
  • TE Zach Davidson
  • G Wyatt Davis
  • DT Michael Pierce
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Published
Gene Chamberlain
GENE CHAMBERLAIN

BearDigest.com publisher Gene Chamberlain has covered the Chicago Bears full time as a beat writer since 1994 and prior to this on a part-time basis for 10 years. He covered the Bears as a beat writer for Suburban Chicago Newspapers, the Daily Southtown, Copley News Service and has been a contributor for the Daily Herald, the Associated Press, Bear Report, CBS Sports.com and The Sporting News. He also has worked a prep sports writer for Tribune Newspapers and Sun-Times newspapers.

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