Exposed again, Vikings lose to last-place Bears

The conversation has shifted slightly in recent days.

Chicago Bears running back Jordan Howard (24) runs from Minnesota Vikings strong safety Anthony Harris, from left, Danielle Hunter (99) and Eric Kendricks (54) during the first half of an NFL football game in Chicago, Monday, Oct. 31, 2016. The fact is, Cutler will have more mediocre and bad weeks than top-five fantasy performances. Quarterback Sam Bradford took six sacks against the Eagles, and the Bears, who hadn’t been scaring anyone with their injury-riddled defense, spooked him into five more sacks.

It was touchdown that Diggs didn’t score, though, that really irked Bradford. But wide receiver Stefon Diggs, who caught a 25-yard TD pass from Bradford with 5:41 left in the game for the Vikings’ only touchdown, insists he isn’t anxious. The carnage continued Monday night as Bradford was sacked five times by Chicago. He’s also a vast upgrade over the Vikings’ incumbents at his position.

The loss was the second in a row for the Vikings (5-2) following a 21-10 setback October 23 at Philadelphia. That said, it was nice to see him look like he was having fun out there. At the end of the day, another major reason why the Bears won was because of Jordan Howard.

Zach Miller led the Bears with seven receptions for 88 yards, consistent possession catches with none longer than 21 yards. Despite the low usage he had his 83.3 catch percentage was his highest of the season.

The Bears will take the field in Week 10 against the Buccaneers, a team that features a pocket passer in Jameis Winston.

Jay Cutler also returned from his thumb injury.

“You have to put (Monday’s loss) behind you”, cornerback Xavier Rhodes said.

At the end of the first half, the Vikings barely converted on third-and-1 from the 4-yard line with a 1-yard run by Matt Asiata that might have gotten a favorable spot but held up on a challenge by the Bears. Including, but not limited to, most touchdowns, completions, yards, completion percentage and wins, oh and most game winning drives. Bears QB hits: 8, Vikings passing first downs: 8. At 0-8 already this season, the Browns are a train wreck, and although publicly they’re saying Thomas isn’t for sale, reports indicate they’re open to trade offers for any of their veterans.

There wasn’t much positivity to go around in this one, but defensive tackle Linval Joseph was one of the Vikings’ few bright spots.

Jake Long was out of football and hoping to get a chance to prove his right knee was healthy again when the Vikings signed him on October 11. The play calling on all three levels were on point.

The best defense in the National Football League might still be the best, yet they still couldn’t carry a stagnant offense to a win against the Bears, who were playing with a quarterback the franchise doesn’t want, and were 1-6 heading into the game.

Zimmer sought to shake up the offensive line by starting Jake Long at left tackle.

The Vikings drove inside Chicago’s 10-yard line before the defense shut Minnesota down and sacked Bradford for a 10-yard loss before Walsh connected on the field goal.

Howard had a 69-yard run in the first quarter that led to a 30-yard Connor Barth field goal, giving the Bears the lead for good at 3-0. He added another 49 receiving yards and another touchdown, finishing with 202 all-purpose yards. The previous three games they’d gone 2-for-7 in the red zone at scoring TDs.