The Vikings had no first downs and trailed 2-0 because immobile Sam Bradford held the ball too long in the end zone. It seemed worth watching, however, thanks to the fact that rookie quarterback Mitchell Trubisky was getting his first National Football League start and because Sam Bradford was finally back in action after needing three weeks off due to a knee injury. I tried to approach the week like I was starting.
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“I don’t think it’s any different from the previous times”.
The Chicago Bears pulled out all the stops Monday night, October 9, but it was the Minnesota Vikings walking away with an NFC North divisional victory, 20-17. Kicker Kai Forbath kicked a 26-yard field goal with 12 seconds remaining for the go-ahead score. Trubisky went 3-for-4 for 30 yards on his first drive.
Trubisky wanted this win badly and couldn’t get it done, for the Bears fans so eager to see their future at quarterback, for a coaching staff that suffered its 27th loss in the John Fox era and most importantly for the teammates whom he took the field with.
The Vikings improved to 3-2 while the Bears dropped to 1-4.
“He was telling everybody it’s his fault, but we can’t put him in those positions”, Wright said. That was evident early and often in the Bears’ 20-17 loss to the Vikings. Keenum opened the second half by engineering a 13-play, 76-yard drive he capped with a 13-yard touchdown pass to Kyle Rudolph, giving Minnesota a 10-2 lead.
Keenum came into the game with 25 seconds left in the first half after Bradford went 5-of-11 for 36 yards and got sacked four times. Jerick McKinnon fumbled on the kickoff return, but Minnesota was lucky that the ball was recovered out of bounds by the Bears. In both cases, the penalities derailed potential scoring drives and ended in punts. Will Trubisky’s presence make a difference in Vikings vs. Bears?
That cut the lead to 10-9, but it didn’t last long.
“(Guard) Nick Easton had a great block”, McKinnon said. The diminutive running back burst through the right side of the offensive line for his first touchdown of the season. By the time he got to the fourth quarter, after the cavalcade of weirdness and frustration – punters throwing touchdown passes and the other team’s backup QB outshining him – he’d get to the meat and potatoes.
Miller scored a 20 yard touchdown on the play before that when he caught a tipped pass from Trubisky. “We were able to flip the field a little bit, but it was a good route [by Rudolph], and I just missed it”.
Searching for something different with Trubisky’s promotion, the Bears were dealt the same hand in the highly anticipated game.
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The Bears defense allowed just 55 yards and four first downs in the first half. He now at least has a grab, but it didn’t gain any yards. So, and I said this in my live chat… This year’s second overall pick also showed the awareness to tuck the ball and run on several plays.
