After having a 17-6 lead going into the fourth quarter, the Chicago Bears allowed 21 unanswered points to start the same quarter to lose to the Minnesota Vikings 27-24 on Monday night.
Penalties were the ultimate back breaker for the Bears as they had 11 for 122 yards. They also closed the game with just three third down conversions out of 12 attempts.
There will be many questions from this game, but there were good performances and not so great ones for the Bears. Who were the winners and losers from the Bears' loss?
Winner: Joe Thuney, OG
There aren't many offensive linemen on the Bears who had good games, but the reliable former All-Pro Thuney was one of them. He was one of the few who didn't have a penalty and was able to hold up his tackles well. The Bears were smart to trade for him, as that deal is paying off dividends.
Loser: Jonah Jackson, OG
It wasn't a particularly strong night for Jackson as he often gotten blown past by the Vikings' tackles. Jackson and his interior linemen just struggled to get any running lanes open for D'Andre Swift and crew. The Bears dropped a lot of money to bring in Jackson and the return of investment is not quite there yet.
Winner: Dayo Odeyingbo, DE
The knock on Odeyingbo was that he only had three sacks last season and has lacked in that department in his four seasons in the NFL. Chicago ended up hitting a home run with signing him in free agency.
Odeyingbo finished with three tackles, two quarterback hits, one pass deflection, one tackle for loss, and a sack. He was everything from knocking J.J. McCarthy to the ground to chasing down Jordan Mason for a loss. Outside of two tough penalties, it was an impressive showing from a player who needed to make a great first impression.
Loser: Braxton Jones, LT
Let's be honest, how many times have Bears fans seen Jones portrayed as a loser in articles like this? It's happened again as Andrew Van Ginkel dominated him on the left side of the line, as Williams had to abandon the pocket multiple times because of it. The concerns of Jones are already growing as he might not be long to start at left tackle.
Winner: Noah Sewell, LB
There was a lot of panic within the Bears' fan base after the news of T.J. Edwards being out for the game. Sewell eased all their minds by picking up right from he left off in the preseason.
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He was the leader of the Bears' defense in tackles with nine. Sewell was literally all over the field, making tackles everywhere. The hope is that Edwards will be back next week, but at least they have a solution with Sewell for the time being.