Week 11: Winners & Losers vs the Bears

The Minnesota Vikings lost 19–17 to the Chicago Bears in a tough game that moves them to 4–6 on the season. We will take a look at some of the Winners and Losers of this game.

5 Winners of the Game

1. Jalen Redmond

Redmond finished with 3 tackles and 1 tackle for loss on the day. The stat sheet may not look like anything substantial, but he showed up all day — and all season, for that matter. He continues to be one of the unsung heroes of the defense and is having a fantastic year.

2. Myles Price

Price definitely made up for his fumbling issue last week. He had a few solid returns, averaging 26.6 yards per punt return on the day, including a long of 43 yards. He’s been a very pleasant surprise for the Vikings this season, and I’d love to see him get some offensive snaps in the future. I really believe he could be a gadget, “Percy Harvin-type” player for the team.

3. The Offensive Line

The offensive line was fantastic today, and unfortunately it’ll be overshadowed due to the quarterback play. The unit gave up zero sacks on the day and paved the way for 115 rushing yards from Aaron Jones and Jordan Mason. The run game averaged 5.2 yards per attempt and scored a touchdown early in the 4th quarter. This was probably the best overall game from the offensive line this season.

4. Aaron Jones and Jordan Mason

I loved the usage of the Jones-and-Mason combo today, but I wish they would’ve leaned on it even more. Jones averaged 4.4 yards per carry with 70 rushing yards and 11 receiving yards. Mason averaged an impressive 7.5 yards per carry, rushing for 45 yards and a touchdown in the 4th quarter to help spark the (ultimately unsuccessful) comeback attempt.

5. Dallas Turner

This was the game Vikings fans have been waiting for from the second-year, first-round pick. Turner accounted for 7 tackles, 2 tackles for loss, and 1 sack. He was all over the field, showing flashes with a pass deflection and 3 QB hits as well. I loved what I saw from the young edge rusher filling in for an injured Jonathan Greenard, and I think he showed a lot of promise after an underwhelming career so far.

Honorable Mentions: Blake Cashman and Andrew Van Ginkel

5 Losers of the Game

1. J.J. McCarthy

This was a very rough game for the 22-year-old quarterback. It was only McCarthy’s 5th start, but it did not look great regardless. He threw 2 interceptions and had another that probably should’ve been picked. He finished with only 150 passing yards and a 47.7 passer rating. He missed several throws throughout the game and didn’t record his first completed pass of the second half until there were 3 minutes left in the 4th quarter. Overall, it was not a good day, but he did show he could fight through adversity with a late touchdown drive that gave the Vikings the lead — it just wasn’t enough.

2. Special Teams

That was just tragic. The long kick return at the end of the game that put the Bears in field-goal range was basically the nail in the coffin for the season. The unit also had a penalty on another nice Myles Price return, and it has been an issue all year. Special teams has been a problem all season outside of Myles Price and Will Reichard.

3. Kevin O’Connell

This wasn’t the worst game O’Connell has called this season, but it definitely wasn’t one of his best since becoming head coach in 2022. I liked the implementation of the run game this week and it worked, but I think there should’ve been even more commitment to it. It’s hard when your quarterback isn’t accurate throughout the game, but he needs to do a better job of implementing the short and intermediate passes we saw during the final drive. Overall, I don’t think the play-calling was the main issue — the quarterback was — but this is still Kevin’s team, and they didn’t do enough to win on offense or special teams.

4. Tackling

The tackling was a real problem today, just like it was in the first matchup against the Bears this season. The Vikings had multiple opportunities to sack Caleb Williams but were only able to bring him down twice. Harrison Smith and Josh Metellus both had rough tackle attempts that led to a big reception on a must-have 3rd-down stop. Byron Murphy also missed a tackle that resulted in a long gain, and Isaiah Rodgers had a poor attempt as well, which ultimately led to him heading into the medical tent.

5. T.J. Hockenson and Jordan Addison (Drops)

These guys had some really bad drops today. Addison at least made up for it with a nice touchdown grab with a defender right on him. Addison has had a good season overall, but I can’t say the same for T.J. Hockenson.

If you're interested in being notified when the next article comes out, be sure to scroll down to the "Free Subscription" form and subscribe, I hope you enjoyed!