Kirk Cousins gets first ‘Monday Night Football’ win as Vikings tame Bears
Another dreadful performance for the Chicago offense included quarterback Nick Foles being knocked from the game in the final minute. Foles, the former Super Bowl MVP for the Philadelphia Eagles who was given the Bears’ starting job when Coach Matt Nagy benched Mitchell Trubisky earlier this season, was injured on a hit while delivering a pass in the game’s final minute. He was taken from the field on a cart as players on both teams checked on his well-being.
Nagy said after the game that Foles was being evaluated for a hip or leg injury and had been in a great deal of pain on the field. The struggling Bears enter their bye week with their quarterback situation even more unsettled.
“When I got out there right away, I wasn’t sure what it was,” Nagy said in a postgame video news conference. “I didn’t know if it was like his ribs or his shoulder or what. And then when I saw the amount of pain that he was in — I hope he’s okay. But he was in a lot of pain. He’s a tough dude, and he was in a lot of pain. When you see that, you’re down there with him, you feel for him just because you don’t know how good or bad it is. So that part’s hard.”
Tyler Bray finished the game at quarterback for the Bears, with Trubisky on the inactive list because of a shoulder injury. Foles’s injury, if it’s as serious as it seemed late Monday night, could enable Trubisky to regain the starting job following the Bears’ bye.
Cousins had been 0-9 in Monday night games as a starter for Washington and Minnesota. He wasn’t especially great on this Monday night, either. He threw an interception in a 25-for-36, 292-yard passing performance. But he had touchdown passes of 17 yards and six yards to Thielen, who made a spectacular one-handed catch in the end zone on the first of those.
Rookie wideout Justin Jefferson had eight catches for 135 yards. Tailback Dalvin Cook ran for 96 yards on 30 carries, and kicker Dan Bailey added a pair of field goals.
“We weren’t running the ball as consistently as we have earlier in the year,” Cousins said. “But we were able to make enough plays and the defense really stood up all game long.”
The Vikings extended their winning streak to three games and improved to 4-5.
“At the bye week, we were 1-5,” Cousins said. “We knew we had 10 games left and those 10 games were going to write the story. We dug ourselves a hole. But we’ve slowly climbed out of it and hopefully we can continue to do that in the weeks ahead.”
The Bears’ Cordarrelle Patterson tied the NFL record with his eighth career touchdown on a kickoff return. He matched the eight each by Josh Cribbs and Leon Washington when he went 104 yards with the opening kickoff of the second half.
But Chicago otherwise managed only a pair of field goals by kicker Cairo Santos in the first game since Nagy handed play-calling duties to offensive coordinator Bill Lazor. Foles threw an interception while completing 15 of 26 passes for 106 yards. The Bears managed only 149 yards of total offense and lost their fourth straight game. Their meager offensive output offset the good work done by their defense and special teams.
“Obviously we struggled mightily on offense…. Two out of the three parts right now are playing well,” Nagy said. “It’s been a constant theme for us.”
Foles just overthrew wide receiver Anthony Miller on a deep pass on a fourth-and-nine play with just more than two minutes remaining. The Bears got the ball back at their 20-yard line with 44 seconds left. Foles was injured on the first play of their last-gasp drive. They reached only their 38-yard line, and Bray threw a fourth-down incompletion to seal the outcome.
Nagy said he will use the bye week to evaluate all that the Bears (5-5) are doing on offense and will seek input from players.
“As hard as it is and as frustrating when you haven’t won in a month, we’ve got to just keep using that persistence… and just keep fighting and keep staying together and eventually something here will hopefully change,” Nagy said. “And I think that’s where we’ve got to believe and trust and keep playing for each other.”
November 16, 2020 at 11:23 PM EST
Kirk Cousins gets first Monday win, Nick Foles hurt as Vikings beat Bears
By Mark Maske
Kirk Cousins, finally, was Mr. Monday Night.
The so-often-derided quarterback secured the first “Monday Night Football” victory of his NFL career. Cousins threw two touchdown passes to wide receiver Adam Thielen and the Minnesota Vikings beat the Chicago Bears, 19-13, at Soldier Field.
Another dreadful performance for the Chicago offense included quarterback Nick Foles being knocked from the game in the final minute. Foles, the former Super Bowl MVP for the Philadelphia Eagles who was given the starting job when Coach Matt Nagy benched Mitchell Trubisky earlier this season, was injured on a hit while delivering a pass with 44 seconds remaining. He was taken from the field on a cart as players on both teams checked on him.
Tyler Bray finished the game at quarterback for the Bears.
Cousins had been 0-9 in Monday night games for Washington and Minnesota. He wasn’t especially great on this Monday night, either. He threw an interception in a 25-for-36, 292-yard passing performance. But he had touchdown passes of 17 yards and six yards to Thielen, who made a spectacular one-handed catch in the end zone on the first of those.
Rookie wideout Justin Jefferson had eight catches for 135 yards as the Vikings extended their winning streak to three games and improved their record to 4-5. Tailback Dalvin Cook ran for 96 yards on 30 carries and kicker Dan Bailey added a pair of field goals.
The Bears’ Cordarrelle Patterson tied the NFL record with his eighth career touchdown on a kickoff return. He matched the eight each by Josh Cribbs and Leon Washington when he went 104 yards with the opening kickoff of the second half.
But Chicago otherwise managed only a pair of field goals by Cairo Santos in the first game since Nagy handed play-calling duties to offensive coordinator Bill Lazor. Foles threw an interception while completing 15 of 26 passes for 106 yards. The Bears managed only 149 yards of total offense and lost their fourth straight game. Their record dropped to 5-5.
Foles overthrew wide receiver Anthony Miller on a deep pass on a fourth-and-nine play with just more than two minutes remaining. (Final score: Vikings 19, Bears 13)
November 16, 2020 at 11:14 PM EST
Nick Foles injured, taken from field on cart
By Mark Maske
Nick Foles was knocked from the game in the final minute. Foles absorbed a hard hit while delivering a pass with 44 seconds remaining. Foles was taken from the field on a cart and Tyler Bray took over at quarterback for the Bears. (Vikings 19, Bears 13, 0:44 left in the fourth quarter)
November 16, 2020 at 10:59 PM EST
Bears fail on fourth down as Nick Foles overthrows Anthony Miller deep
By Mark Maske
The Bears got a 32-yard punt return by Anthony Miller but it led to nothing. Nick Foles just overthrew Miller on a deep pass on fourth and nine from the Minnesota 35-yard line. (Vikings 19, Bears 13, 2:04 left in the fourth quarter)
November 16, 2020 at 10:41 PM EST
Kirk Cousins to Adam Thielen, part 2, gives Vikings fourth-quarter lead
By Mark Maske
The Vikings have the lead on the second touchdown pass of the night from Kirk Cousins to wide receiver Adam Thielen. This one covered six yards. The Vikings botched the extra point, however, on a bad snap. (Vikings 19, Bears 13, 10:06 left in the fourth quarter)
November 16, 2020 at 10:24 PM EST
Another Vikings field goal ties the game
By Mark Maske
Kicker Dan Bailey provided a 43-yard field goal to tie the game the Vikings. Rookie wide receiver Justin Jefferson had a 54-yard catch and run to set up the field goal. Jefferson’s catch came on a third-and-11 play, right after a holding call on tight end Kyle Rudolph nullified a 36-yard run by tailback Dalvin Cook. (Vikings 13, Bears 13, 1:52 left in the third quarter)
November 16, 2020 at 10:00 PM EST
Vikings get field goal after muffed punt by Bears
By Mark Maske
The Vikings drew closer by turning a muffed punt by the Bears into a 37-yard field goal by kicker Dan Bailey. Bears punt returner Dwayne Harris failed to make the catch and the Vikings recovered at the Chicago 20-yard line. But they moved only one yard and had to settle for the field goal. (Bears 13, Vikings 10, 10:50 left in the third quarter)
November 16, 2020 at 9:53 PM EST
Bears’ Cordarrelle Patterson returns second-half kickoff for touchdown
By Mark Maske
The Bears struck quickly in the second half as Cordarrelle Patterson returned the kickoff 104 yards for a touchdown. It was Patterson’s eighth career touchdown on a kickoff return, tying the NFL record. He caught the kickoff in the end zone, ran through the middle of the Vikings’ coverage team, veered to the right and maneuvered easily around Minnesota kicker Dan Bailey. Patterson cradled the ball in his right hand and held up two fingers with his left hand as he coasted toward the goal line. (Bears 13, Vikings 7, 14:46 left in the third quarter)
November 16, 2020 at 9:46 PM EST
Vikings lead Bears at half as Kirk Cousins seeks first ‘MNF’ victory
By Mark Maske
Quarterback Kirk Cousins and the Vikings have a halftime lead in Chicago as Cousins seeks his first victory on “Monday Night Football.”
Cousins threw a touchdown pass to wide receiver Adam Thielen and the Vikings are in front, 7-6, at the half.
Thielen made an excellent one-handed catch in the end zone on his 17-yard touchdown. That was part of a 14-for-16, 132-yard passing half for Cousins, who has a 0-9 record in Monday night games for Washington and Minnesota. But Cousins also threw an interception to Bears linebacker Khalil Mack that set up a Chicago field goal in the final minute of the half.
That was one of two first-half turnovers for the Vikings. Tight end Kyle Rudolph lost a fumble for the first time in his 137 career NFL games. Minnesota tailback Dalvin Cook was held to 32 rushing yards on 14 first-half attempts.
Bears kicker Cairo Santos had field goals of 23 and 42 yards. That was it for the first-half offensive output for the Bears in the first game since Coach Matt Nagy handed play-calling duties to offensive coordinator Bill Lazor. Quarterback Nick Foles threw an interception while connecting on 10 of 16 throws for 91 yards. Foles was seen at one point shaking his right hand after taking a hit, but he remained in the game. (Vikings 7, Bears 6 at halftime)
November 16, 2020 at 9:30 PM EST
Bears turn Khalil Mack’s interception into a field goal
By Mark Maske
The Bears managed only a field goal after Khalil Mack’s interception and 33-yard return. Kicker Cairo Santos connected from 42 yards. (Vikings 7, Bears 6, 0:49 left in the second quarter)
November 16, 2020 at 9:26 PM EST
Kirk Cousins throws interception to Khalil Mack
By Mark Maske
Kirk Cousins was off to a 14-for-15 passing start in the game, but his 16th throw didn’t go well. With the Vikings trying to add to their lead, a pass by Cousins intended for wide receiver Adam Thielen was intercepted by Bears linebacker Khalil Mack. The interception came on a first-and-10 play from the Chicago 28-yard line. Mack provided a 33-yard return to the Minnesota 45-yard line. (Vikings 7, Bears 3, 1:51 left in the second quarter)
November 16, 2020 at 8:51 PM EST
Bears get on the board with a field goal
By Mark Maske
The Bears reached the Minnesota 5-yard line. But the drive stalled there and Chicago had a settle for a 23-yard field goal by Cairo Santos. Nick Foles had a 24-yard completion to wide receiver Allen Robinson along the way. (Vikings 7, Bears 3, 0:32 left in the first quarter)
November 16, 2020 at 8:41 PM EST
Adam Thielen makes terrific touchdown catch to put Vikings in front
By Mark Maske
The Vikings cashed in on the Bears’ turnover with a 17-yard touchdown pass from Kirk Cousins to wide receiver Adam Thielen, who made a superb one-handed catch in the end zone against tight coverage. Minnesota moved 41 yards in six plays after safety Harrison Smith’s interception of a pass by the Bears’ Nick Foles. (Vikings 7, Bears 0, 6:29 left in the first quarter)
November 16, 2020 at 8:37 PM EST
Nick Foles throws pick on Bears’ second offensive play
By Mark Maske
The Bears answered the Vikings’ turnover with one of their own. Quarterback Nick Foles threw a tipped-ball interception on Chicago’s second offensive play. The ball deflected off the hands of wide receiver Anthony Miller to Vikings safety Harrison Smith, who made the interception. (Vikings 0, Bears 0, 9:34 left in the first quarter)
November 16, 2020 at 8:30 PM EST
Kyle Rudolph loses fumble on Vikings’ opening drive
By Mark Maske
The Vikings committed a turnover on their opening possession as tight end Kyle Rudolph lost a fumble after a catch. He was very close to being down by contact before the fumble. But the officials allowed the on-field ruling of a fumble to stand following the instant replay review. (Vikings 0, Bears 0, 10:22 left in the first quarter)
