Chicago Bears Take Another Step Backward in Week 15 Loss to Minnesota Vikings
Published by Matt Eurich on December 20, 2015
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears reached their season’s apex when they defeated the Green Bay Packers on Thanksgiving night, but the team has slowly regressed in the last three games. On Sunday, the Bears took another step backward when they lost 38-17 on the road to the Minnesota Vikings.
The Bears dropped to 5-9 on the season on Sunday, and their slim playoff chances were dashed with the loss to Minnesota.
Minnesota gained 350 yards of total offense and controlled the ball for more than 32 minutes on Sunday afternoon. Chicago’s defense allowed an average of 6.1 yards per play to the Vikings in Week 15, and it gave up four passing touchdowns and one rushing touchdown to Minnesota quarterback Teddy Bridgewater.
NBC Chicago’s Peggy Kusinski confirmed after the game that the Bears have been eliminated from playoff contention:
The Bears had issues all over the field against Minnesota, but three areas stood out on Sunday.
Offensive Line Failed in Pass Protection
Chicago’s offensive line has had a lot of different moving parts this season, and the unit played one of its worst games of the year against the Vikings on Sunday afternoon.
The offensive line failed to contain Minnesota’s pass-rushers, and the team allowed a season-high five sacks in Week 15, according to Patrick Finley of the Chicago Sun-Times:
Guards Matt Slauson and Patrick Omameh held their own in pass protection against Minnesota, but left tackle Charles Leno, center Hroniss Grasu and right tackle Kyle Long all struggled.
Leno has had an up-and-down year at left tackle, but he struggled on Sunday when the Vikings got creative at the line of scrimmage, according to 670 The Score radio host Jason Goff:
Minnesota used a lot of twists and stunts up front to confuse Chicago’s offensive line. Leno often guessed wrong and tried to block a defensive lineman Slauson had already taken up on the inside.
In the middle of the offensive line, Grasu was pushed around all game long. The third-round pick out of Oregon is an athletic center who is terrific when asked to pull and get out in front on running plays, but he lacks the strength to match up with strong interior defensive linemen. He had a costly holding call on veteran Matt Forte‘s 35-yard run, and he struggled to get much of a push off the ball snap throughout the afternoon.
Long moved to right tackle before the start of the season, and while he has not played at a Pro Bowl level like he did in his first two years in the league while playing right guard, he has shown flashes of his potential at his new position this year.
Last week against the Washington Redskins, he struggled against outside linebackers Ryan Kerrigan and Trent Murphy, and on Sunday he struggled against defensive end Brian Robison.
After the Bears recovered an onside kick to start the second half, Long struggled to contain Robison off the snap on Chicago’s third play of the drive. The veteran defensive end sacked quarterback Jay Cutler and caused a fumble. The Vikings recovered the fumble and scored six plays later on Bridgewater’s 33-yard touchdown pass to rookie receiver Stefon Diggs.
Even though the offensive line struggled in pass protection, it did do a solid job in the running game. The Bears only ran the ball 20 times, but they averaged 4.7 yards per carry.
Long and Slauson are pieces worth building around in the future, but the Bears will have to determine in the next couple of weeks whether or not they want to improve the offensive line via free agency and the draft or opt to stick with what they have moving forward.
Penalties Were Once Again an Issue
In Chicago’s disappointing loss to the Denver Broncos in Week 11, the team committed just one penalty. In the last four games, the Bears have struggled with their discipline, according to Mark Potash of the Chicago Sun-Times:
On Sunday against Minnesota, the Bears committed six penalties for 39 yards. Chicago struggled with holding penalties on offense, and outside linebacker Lamarr Houston was called for two penalties, per Kevin Fishbain of ChicagoFootball.com:
It is hard to win games when committing a number of penalties, and before Sunday’s game, the Bears ranked 12th in the NFL with 95 penalties, according to FootballDB.com.
In order for the Bears to find success in the last two games of the year, they are going to need to do a better job of eliminating their mental mistakes.
Defense Failed to Stop Big Plays
Chicago’s defense has had its fair share of growing pains in its new 3-4 scheme this season under coordinator Vic Fangio, and it struggled to stop big plays against Minnesota.
The defense gave up four receptions for 76 yards to backup running back Jerick McKinnon—including a 30-yard reception and a 17-yard touchdown reception, three catches for 55 yards to Diggs and three receptions to receiver Mike Wallace for 37 yards—including a 34-yard reception.
Cornerbacks Tracy Porter, Kyle Fuller and Alan Ball struggled to defend crossing routes across the middle, and starting safeties Adrian Amos and Chris Prosinski struggled at times to make tackles in the open field.
The Bears struggled to wrap up ball-carriers throughout the game, and inside linebacker Shea McClellin failed to capitalize on a sack of Bridgewater on a blitz in the second half, per the Chicago Tribune‘s Rich Campbell:
The Vikings were committed to running the football and gained 129 yards on 36 carries. That commitment to the running game opened up opportunities down the field in the passing game. The Bears secondary and linebackers struggled to keep Minnesota’s receivers in check all afternoon, and their inability to stop big plays cost them the game.
Following the loss to Minnesota on Sunday, the Bears will have to turn their attention toward Week 16 and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Since the team has no shot at the playoffs, it will be up to head coach John Fox to get his team motivated for next Sunday’s matchup.
Statistical information courtesy of ESPN.com unless otherwise noted.
Matt Eurich is a Chicago Bears featured columnist for Bleacher Report and a member of the Pro Football Writers of America.
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