Josh Dobbs Throws Four Interceptions, Vikings Fall to Bears in 12-10 Stinker

That was an ugly, ugly loss for the Vikings in front of a national audience.

That is a nightmarish loss for the Minnesota Vikings.

Despite Josh Dobbs throwing a stunning four interceptions in the game, the Vikings took a 10-9 lead over the Bears with just under six minutes to play when Dobbs hit T.J. Hockenson for a 17-yard touchdown up the seam — the first TD of the night for either team. A few minutes later, Josh Metellus forced the second fumble of the fourth quarter by Justin Fields, with Anthony Barr falling on it for the recovery.

The Vikings had a chance to put the game away, or at least get three points. Instead, on a possession starting from the Chicago 43, they ran it twice for one yard and then threw a quick screen that lost a yard. Much like last week against the Broncos, Kevin O'Connell played conservatively with the lead and got burned.

After taking a delay of game, Ryan Wright — who has not been good this season — punted from the 48 to the Bears' 22. He failed to execute his job in that situation.

Still, the Vikings just needed one more defensive stop against a Bears offense that had struggled all game. After a second down throwaway with just over a minute left, Minnesota's sideline was incensed that there was no intentional grounding call. On the following play, Fields hit D.J. Moore for 36 yards when the Vikings' secondary busted the coverage. It was the longest play of the night for either team.

From there, the Bears bled the clock down to ten seconds and had Cairo Santos drill a game-winning chip shot, his fourth field goal of the game. That's how the Vikings lost a game where their defense didn't allow a single touchdown. It was the first time in the NFL this season where a team has lost without allowing a TD.

This was a total disaster for the Vikings on the offensive side of the ball. One week after turning it over three times against the Broncos in primetime, they topped themselves with four turnovers against the Bears. Three of Dobbs' four picks came off deflections, but it's hard to say he didn't deserve to throw three or four on the night. He was inaccurate, made poor decisions, and seemed to be a tick late most of the time.

It was a truly atrocious football game in front of a national audience on a Monday night, but the Bears escaped and moved to 4-8 with the win. The Vikings drop to 6-6 as they head into a much-needed bye week.

The first half was a sloppy mess from both teams, setting the tone for the evening. The Bears dinked and dunked their way to a nine-minute opening possession, which ended with zero points after Santos missed a 48-yard field goal. They moved the ball well on their second possession, but had to settle for a short field goal in the red zone. Their next three drives ended in punts.

The Vikings' offense was much, much worse, especially before the two-minute warning. Their first four series went like this: Three and out, interception, interception, three and out. They had 24 total yards on 16 plays during that span. They finally got going a little bit before halftime, with Dobbs finding Brandon Powell for a big play and then Hockenson drawing a pass interference call, but it ended in a field goal to tie the game at 3.

Dobbs had a rough half. He underthrew Jordan Addison on his first interception, watched a second pick go off Addison's hands, and should've thrown a third INT — and a pick-six, at that — but was bailed out by a Jaylon Johnson drop. He didn't seem to be playing with the confidence and magic that he showed over his first three games in a Vikings uniform.

Despite losing the turnover battle 2-0 and doing basically nothing on offense all half, the Vikings went into the break tied with the Bears thanks to some typically strong play from Danielle Hunter, Josh Metellus, and Brian Flores' defense. It didn't hurt that Chicago committed six penalties before the break, including five in a span of three minutes in the second quarter.

Things didn't get better for the Vikings in the third quarter. Feeling some desperation, O'Connell went for it on fourth down twice from near midfield — and neither play was successful. First, Dobbs and Hockenson only got six yards when they needed seven. Then came Dobbs' third pick of the night, another one off of a deflection.

Incredibly, Dobbs threw another interception, his fourth, on the Vikings' ensuing possession. He got hit as he threw and the ball went directly to a Bears defensive tackle, who deflected it into the arms of a diving Kyler Gordon.

And yet, after all that, the Vikings' defense came up with two fourth quarter takeaways and gave the offense a chance. After finally getting their first lead on the Hockenson touchdown, they had an opportunity to put the game away and didn't take it.

The end result was an ugly, inexcusable loss that the Vikings completely deserved.

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