Takeaways from the Chicago Bears' Monday Night Football game against the Minnesota Vikings
The Chicago Bears' had a familiar story in Minnesota on Monday Night.
The offense started slow as molasses.
The defense held on for as long as it could.
The Bears kept hurting themselves with miscues and mistakes.
When the Vikings went up 20-3 late in the third quarter, the Bears were back against the wall yet again. Quarterback Caleb Williams had to try and engineer a fourth-quarter comeback.
When Tyrique Stevenson was flagged for pass interference and Cam Akers punched the ball in to make it a 27-6 game, that was too much for the Bears to overcome as they lost for an eighth-straight game in a row. The Vikings put the Bears away 30-12.
Here are our takeaways from the Bears' Monday Night Football showdown against the Minnesota Vikings:
The offense keeps hurting itself
Here's a stat: The Bears have been scoreless in the first half of five games this season.
On Monday, they showed the struggles coming together.
The Bears went for it on fourth and short twice in the first half on Monday. They missed both times. The first miss set up an easy field goal for the Vikings. The second one passed up a field goal, which would have given the Bears some points in the first half and rendered that stat above pointless.
In the third quarter, the Bears had a chance to get on the board through the end zone. At the Vikings' one-yard line, Doug Kramer never reported as eligible. That took a one-yard touchdown run by D'Andre Swift off the board. A Swift run got back to the one-yard line again but a holding flag on Kiran Amegadije pushed the Bears back further.
The most frustrating part of the Kramer flag is how this was far from the first time Kramer has played on offense. This was about his seventh time lining up as a fullback. He should know to report to the officials. The Bears settled for a field goal to get on the board.
Had the Bears got on the board, it would render this stat useless: The Vikings held an opponent scoreless and without a third-down conversion in the first half of a game for the first time since Week 15 of the 2017 season vs. Cincinnati.
It wouldn't have been the case.
Have a night DeMarcus Walker
One of the Bears' vested veterans had a solid night on the defensive line, which was a welcome sight.
On a night when the Bears were down Gervon Dexter Sr., on top of missing Andrew Billings, Walker showed up in a big way. He pressured Darnold consistently and had a massive tackle for loss in the first half that stymied a Vikings drive. Walker had four quarterback hits on Darnold, too.
Walker's contributions go under the radar a bit, especially when he shares the defensive line with Dexter and Montez Sweat. When the Bears traded for Sweat, Walker went from being the Bears' premier defensive line signing to one of the most under-the-radar players on a defensive line that has talented players.
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA - DECEMBER 16: Caleb Williams #18 of the Chicago Bears scrambles with the ball during the second quarter against the Minnesota Vikings at U.S. Bank Stadium on December 16, 2024 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Stephen Matur
It was not a good night for Kiran Amegadije
Starting on short notice with Braxton Jones centering concussion protocol, the Bears' third-round selection out of Yale struggled.
He got beat in the first quarter on a play that resulted in Williams getting leveled and a strip sack. He also had a holding that took the Bears' from the one-yard line to the 11-yard line.
On top of all that, Amegadije also got tabbed for illegal man downfield and false start flags.
It was a night he would've liked to have back.
Welcome back, Tyrique Stevenson
It's been a few weeks, but one of the most maligned Bears players got back in the highlight reel.
Stevenson had a first-half interception on Darnold deep in Bears territory that kept the Vikings from a first down, but also kept a field goal attempt off the field. It was Stevenson's first interception since his Week 1 pick-six on Will Levis that won the game for the Bears.
It was a welcome sight, especially for Stevenson. Ever since the Hail Mary loss to Washington, where Stevenson was seen talking to the crowd instead of getting ready to defend the Hail Mary, Stevenson has been trying to find ways to redeem himself.
On Monday night, getting a turnover was good way for Stevenson to get back into the limelight for all the right reasons.
It wasn't a perfect night. His pass interference penalty negated his second interception and put the Vikings at the one-yard line. But he made a play in the first half.