The Chicago Bears lost a tough game to the Minnesota Vikings 19-13. The team could have got to 2-4, which is not quite in the running for the playoffs, but it does look a lot better than 1-5 in the big picture. In such a close game, you can really point to three plays that changed everything and flipped the script. If these three plays break a different way, do the Bears win?
3. Justin Fields hurt the Chicago Bears with an interception
The Chicago Bears just kicked a field goal to make the game 6-6 with under three minutes left in the first half. Kirk Cousins faced third down with two yards to go, and T.J. Edwards came screaming at him on a blitz. Edwards hit Cousins from behind his arm and stripped the football loose.
Tremaine Edmunds jumped on it, and the Bears had the ball at the Vikings 35, threatening to score and take the lead. Three plays later, that ended.
Justin Fields faced third down with two yards to go and saw similar pressure from a Brian Flores blitz. He threw a pass as he got hit, the ball sputtered in the air, and Jordan Hicks made the interception. This gave the Vikings the football with 1:47 left in the game.
Cousins and the Vikings drove down and scored a touchdown right before the end of the first half. At the very least, if Justin Fields throws an incompletion, the Bears have a 9-6 lead. Maybe the Vikings do go down the field and make it 12-9 at the half, but it would have been tougher, and they would have had less time. Still, taking a game from 6-6 and the Bears are about to score to 12-6 and the Bears are losing is a devastating turn of events.
2. The Tyson Bagent fumble for a touchdown crushed the Chicago Bears
This one is pretty obvious. The Chicago Bears were down 12-6 when Tyson Bagent stepped into the game. The Bears moved the chains after two plays, but right after that, Tyson Bagent was sacked, and he fumbled the football. The Vikings did a great job of batting the ball so that it would stay in bounds, and Jordan Hicks picked the ball up.
Hicks, who had the initial game-changing interception happened to be in the right place at the right time. He was able to not only keep the football in bounds but pick it up for the scoop and the score. The game went from 12-6 to 19-6 just like that.
This play was the soul crushed for the Chicago Bears. They were down by two scores, they had a backup quarterback in, and during his third play, he cost the team in a huge way. It was hard to see any way that he could lead a comeback, and the game was out of reach from this point.
1. Tyson Bagent threw a back-breaking interceptions for the Chicago Bears
While the game felt out of reach at 19-6, Tyson Bagent found a way to keep them in it. Bagent led a touchdown drive, and the Chicago Bears forced a punt down 19-13. Bagent had the football with 6:44 to go, needing a touchdown to win the game. We have seen Justin Fields come up small in so many game-winning drive scenarios throughout his career. Now, it was time to see what Tyson Bagent could bring.
The Bears picked up 39 yards on the drive, but right before the two-minute warning, they went for a shot down the field to put themselves in a great position. Bagent appeared to have had his mind made up before the ball was even snapped because he locked onto D.J. Moore and threw it down the field to him despite not getting enough on the pass and Moore being covered.
The egregious underthrow was easily picked off by Byron Murphy. At the two-minute warning, this was enough to put the game away and ensure that the Chicago Bears did not get any more chances. A rough series of events for this team.