It certainly wasn’t a pretty game for the Chicago Bears on Monday Night Football, but the most important thing is that they came away with a win. They went on the road to face their NFC North rivals, the Minnesota Vikings and left victorious with a 12-10 win.
As many primetime games have been this season, the matchup between the Bears and Vikings was a low-scoring and at times very sloppy game. But, Chicago has to be happy about the win, as it keeps their slim playoff hopes alive and should build confidence getting a road victory over a solid opponent.
A big reason that the Bears were able to sneak by the Vikings was that they won the turnover battle. Minnesota quarterback Joshua Dobbs threw four interceptions in the game, and while some weren’t his fault as passes were tipped, the results were the same; Chicago took over possession of the ball.
Quarterback Justin Fields wasn’t without shortcomings of his own. While he didn’t throw an interception in the game, he did turn the ball over twice on fumbles. Despite those turnovers, he was able to lead the team on a game-winning drive in the final moments for the go-ahead field goal.
In the process, Fields joined a very special group of players. He threw for 217 yards and added 59 more on the ground as Chicago game-planned a quick-hitting offensive attack. According to StatMuse on X, formerly known as Twitter, that made him only the fourth quarterback in the last 10 years to throw for 200+ yards, rush for 50+ and not throw an interception.
The other three quarterbacks to earn that distinction are all elite in their own right. Russell Wilson in 2013 with the Seattle Seahawks, Patrick Mahomes in 2019 with the Kansas City Chiefs and Josh Allen in 2020 with the Buffalo Bills were the only other players to achieve what Fields did on Monday night.
Whenever you are on a list with two MVPs and a perennial MVP, you are doing something right. These next few games are imperative to Fields’ future with the Bears and if he wants to be their starting quarterback long-term, he needs to play well.
More performances like Monday night, where Fields leads the Bears to victory, is what ownership and the front office want to see. Chicago will now head into their Week 13 bye with victories in two out of their last three games.
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