(Chris Sweda / Chicago Tribune)įinal word on availability came Sunday when the team learned that cornerback Jaylon Johnson and strong safety Tashaun Gipson were the 13th and 14th players to be sidelined by COVID-19 during the week. The Bears got after them with the pass rush: Robert Quinn and Akiem Hicks each had two sacks and linebackers Roquan Smith and Alec Ogletree played well enough that the Vikings couldn’t do too much damage against a predominant split-safety look on the back end to protect recently benched second-year cornerback Kindle Vildor and rookie Thomas Graham Jr., who had spent the entire season on the practice squad.īears coach Matt Nagy throws a challenge flag in anger in front of a referee in the third quarter against the Vikings at Soldier Field on Dec. The Vikings totaled only 193 yards of offense and were 5-for-17 on third down, meaning they didn’t have many series on which they went from first or second down to first down again. Jefferson was targeted 10 times and caught four passes for 47 yards, one of them a 12-yard touchdown for the first score of the game when the Vikings schemed him open against Bush. The Bears forced the Vikings to punt seven times, including on their final five possessions. Cook carried 28 times for 89 yards (3.2 average) with a long gain of 10. Cousins completed 12 of 24 passes for only 87 yards and was picked off once by Deon Bush when Jefferson got tangled up with nickel cornerback Marqui Christian and fell down. The Bears did a marvelous job against the Vikings’ three-headed monster of quarterback Kirk Cousins, running back Dalvin Cook and wide receiver Justin Jefferson. Desai said Friday that he was optimistic he would be cleared in time for the game, and players learned Sunday he’d be in the booth at the controls of a defense that has had an up-and-down season. Desai was sidelined early in the week, placed in the league’s COVID-19 protocols along with offensive coordinator Bill Lazor and special teams coordinator Chris Tabor. It is certain to be a week defensive coordinator Sean Desai will not forget anytime soon. Credit to the Bears for showing up and putting together a gritty, gutsy and tough effort on defense with the entire starting secondary sidelined against a pretty good Vikings offense. I’m not sure there was a crazier week at Halas Hall, with the possible exception of the upside - down events last month before the Thanksgiving Day game at Detroit. This was the 31st game, playoffs included, the Bears have played during the COVID-19 pandemic. Heading into the 2023 season, the Vikings have opted to essentially run it back with the same group so far, unless UDFAs Jacky Chen or Alan Ali can make a big statement in training camp.10 thoughts after the Chicago Bears needed all 60 minutes to finally reach the end zone with a score that was too little, too late in a 17-9 loss to the Minnesota Vikings on Monday night at Soldier Field. After injuries to both Garrett Bradbury and Austin Schlottmann, Minnesota ran down to the very end of their depth with Chris Reed taking snaps at center. In 2022, Minnesota employed five players on the 53-man roster between the two guard spots and the center position. It wouldn’t be surprising at all if Adofo-Mensah sees the interior offensive line as a group that could use improvement, or at the very least, some extra depth. These trades included acquiring QB Nick Mullens and WR Jalen Reagor to shore up the backup quarterback and starting punt returner spots. Instead, he continued to identify team needs and made multiple trades to bring in new players. Downing-USA TODAY Sportsĭuring his first training camp as general manager, Kwesi Adofo-Mensah did not sit back and let things play out prior to the 2022 season. Denver, Colorado, USA Denver Broncos tight end Albert Okwuegbunam (85) celebrates his touchdown with quarterback Teddy Bridgewater (5) and guard Dalton Risner (66) in the fourth quarter against the Detroit Lions at Empower Field at Mile High.
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