CHICAGO (670 The Score) -- We did it. We found the strength to watch one more Bears game, and boy did it pay off. Their 10th straight loss, a 29-13 affair that “technically counted,” felt a lot like the other nine – underwhelming, primarily uninteresting and full of punts. But now that we’ve put in our time, there’s nothing but blue skies and three to four more rebuilding seasons before this process finally pays off. We fought, they lost, now we rest. For one last week, let’s hand out grades from the Bears' 29-13 loss to the Vikings, which helped land them the No. 1 overall pick in the NFL Draft as the Texans rallied to beat the Colts, 32-31.
Offense: A or B or C, whatever
At the risk of editorializing a bit, the Bears played like a team that, just maybe, didn’t really mind if they turned it over on downs. Tim Boyle’s interception in the second quarter – it’s true, ee played! – may go down as one of the funniest throws of the season. After that, literally nothing worth talking about happened until Velus Jones Jr. somehow managed to stay inbounds on a 42-yard touchdown run. It did sort of go against the “play as openly awful as you can” theme, but it was a nice play. After an … uninspiring … start to his career, Jones’ development over the last half of the season was encouraging to watch. That play also set a new Bears franchise record for rushing yards in a single season, which everyone will surely remember and think back fondly on. Nathan Peterman returned in the second half – just because, I guess? – and threw a touchdown to local guy Cole Kmet, who became the first Bears pass-catcher to reach 500 receiving yards this season. It was also his seventh touchdown of the season. If this was the last time that we saw David Montgomery in a Bears uniform, it was a somewhat fitting finale, given how this season has gone – he ended the game with significantly less yardage (21 yards) and carries (seven) than Khalil Herbert. Another player looking to end an otherwise bad season on a high note was Chase Claypool, who had two catches for 29 yards. You may think that’s underwhelming, but it was 29 more yards than he had last week and one more yard than he had the week before that! Next season? Thirty yards, here we come.
Defense: A or B or C, whatever
I legitimately think the crowd missed the Bears’ first drive of the game, which lasted a total of three plays. They were, however, watching when Kirk Cousins hit K.J. Osborn for a 66-yard pass a few minutes later. Less than five minutes of game clock had passed before the Vikings scored their first touchdown of the day, a four-yard pass from Cousins to Adam Thielen. That drive? It went for 73 yards on four plays. But then Joe Thomas recovered a fumble, so that was cool! Sometime in the second quarter (the concept of time didn’t exist inside Soldier Field on Sunday), the Vikings scored another touchdown. Not to be outdone by his earlier catch, Osborn hauled in another big catch, this time a 30-yarder, later in the first half – he had 112 yards on four receptions (lol) at half. Kirk Cousins was benched for Nick Mullens at halftime and somehow still ended the game with a fairly respectable stat line (17-of-20 for 225 yards and one touchdown). And believe it or not, Mullens immediately marched the Vikings down the field in 11 plays for a touchdown. Jaquan Brisker, who apparently drew the short straw on getting to sit this week, laid some people out and almost had an interception. But you know who did have an interception? Greg Stroman! The Bears are back!
Special teams: A or B or C, whatever
I’m going to go out on a limb and assume you don't care what the Bears’ special teams did in the final game of a three-win season, but Jones had a few nice returns, Cairo Santos had one (1) point and Trenton "All-Pro" Gill punted the ball SO hard.
Cam Ellis is a writer for 670 The Score and Audacy Sports. Follow him on Twitter @KingsleyEllis.
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