It Ain't Over Till It's Over

 December 21, 2020

The Bears kept their faint playoff hopes alive with a scintillating 33-27 victory over the Minnesota Vikings. The Bears sealed the win on the last play of the game. Vikings QB Kirk Cousins’ Hail Mary pass was tipped by Eddie Jackson to Sherrick McManis for an interception. If this pass is completed, the Bears lose. This was the only time that Coach Matt Nagy’s offense deserves more credit for the victory than the defense. It doesn’t get much better than under achiever Robert Quinn, getting his second sack of the season.

David Montgomery had the best game of his career. He had 146 yards on 32 carries and punched in two touchdowns. He had very few carries for short yardage, side stepping closed lanes instead of bowling into the Vikings’ defensive line. The Bears totaled 199 yards on the ground, way more than any other game during Nagy’s tenure. The running game lent itself to great play action passes for QB Mitch Trubisky. He was 15/21 passing for 202 yards. His only mistake was an interception in the end zone on the Bears’ second to the last possession. He also looked good on roll-outs, which I’ve wondered why the Bears haven’t employed more often. His first touchdown was on a roll-out pass to Darnell Mooney, who continues to shine in his rookie season. After four consecutive games together, the offensive line is opening running lanes and providing great pass protection. Allen Robinson had only four receptions but totaled 83 yards. And Cairo Santos is making people forget about Robbie Gould. He converted of 4 FG’s and has now made 20 in a row.

The defense surrendered 27 points, however, they did have their moments. On the Vikings’ first play, the Bears had the first of 4 sacks, pinning the Vikings deep in their zone. This set up a short field leading to the Bears first touchdown. They stopped the Vikings twice on fourth and one. One of which was at the Vikings 38 yard line, leading to a touchdown. They continued to keep teams out of the end zone making them settle for field goals. They contained Vikings star running back
Dalvin Cook, early but he came alive and rushed for 132 yards on 24 carries. The
problems occurred as the Vikings converted a field goal on their last possession of the first half and scored a touchdown on their first possession of the second half. This cut the Bears lead to three points. The Bears kicked a field goal for a six point lead with a little less than one minute left in the game. The Vikings were out of time-outs, but Cousins was able to complete 4 passes for 40 yards before the final play.

The only negative is the Bears need an Arizona Cardinals loss to tie for last seed in the playoffs. They also have the tall task of beating Green Bay in the season finale. If they finish 8-8 Nagy comes back. If Trubisky continues to play well, he may save GM Ryan Pace’s job. This could be a problem as they may be forced to sign Trubisky, who is a free agent. By the way, it would be nice if Pace would lock up Robinson with a long term contract before he too becomes a free agent.