The Vikings Were Overwhelmed By an Electric Team at Soldier Field and Other Bears Bullets

My Sunday got flipped on its ear when I forgot to take my allergy medicine before leaving the hotel I was staying at while away from home. So instead of watching the Bears while out with friends, I watched it from a comfortable couch sneezing to no end. You’d think I would have known better after spending six summers in the Southern Illinois region. Ah, well, nevertheless. We move forward.

The Bears are back:

https://twitter.com/BN_Bears/status/1178464095185625089?s=20

Am I aware that the Packers currently hold a tie-breaker over the Bears in the division standings? Yes. Do I care? Not one bit. The Bears and Packers have the same record, and thus, share a piece of the first-place pie. Now, Green Bay has a slight edge by having already won at Soldier Field. Chicago gets a chance to return the favor in December. It will be cold, but revenge is best served on a frozen Wisconsin tundra. At least, that is what I have been told.

There is just one word to describe the Chicago Bears’ efforts on Sunday — ELECTRIC:

I fully expect Matt Nagy to blow an elbow every time he goes hard and throws down the boom. What … just me?

This quote touched my soul:

Nagy on culture of Bears locker room: "We've got people that don't flinch when adversity strikes."

— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) September 30, 2019

Every time the Bears have been pushed down in the Nagy era, they have bounced back. Remember how they responded after losing the opener at Green Bay in 2018. Then think about how they rose to the occasion to beat the Lions in Detroit on Thanksgiving morning last year after playing the SNF game three days before that while playing with a backup quarterback. All things considered, rallying around Chase Daniel and the football bench mob makes sense for this group. This is simply what good teams do — they find ways to win when victory would otherwise be believed to be impossible.

I have no doubts that we watched Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins put up the ugliest 90+ passer rating in the history of professional football. And while I’m not totally sold on ESPN’s QBR metric a lowly 14.8 rating feels like a more accurate depiction of what happened on Sunday.

Oh, and the much-ballyhooed rushing game picked up just 40 yards on 16 carries. Sure, Dalvin Cook got in for Minnesota’s only touchdown, but this also happened to him:

Anyone know if using an opposing running back as a weapon is against the rules? Asking for a couple Nicks. pic.twitter.com/vY0WW6ZGkw

— Bleacher Nation Bears (@BN_Bears) September 30, 2019

.@bears Defense suffocated the @Vikings offense & @dalvincook the @NFL leading rusher after 3 weeks. The #Bears dominated the LOS. #BaldysBreakdowns pic.twitter.com/iSFXhOJM2h

— Brian Baldinger (@BaldyNFL) September 30, 2019

We might have seen Nick Kwiatkoski’s best game since arriving in the NFL. He had a team-leading nine tackles, a sack, forced fumble, two tackles-for-loss, and one use of an opposing running back as a weapon against his own quarterback. Talk about stuffing the stat sheet!

These guys keep receipts:

Safety Ha Ha Clinton-Dix: "A couple of those guys over there in Minnesota got in the media and were talking a little too much. And a couple guys kind of pulled that up from the media. That put another chip on our shoulders to go out and shut them down, and we did that today." https://t.co/kKFw6nQD0k

— JJ Stankevitz (@JJStankevitz) September 30, 2019

Khalil Mack has a way with words:

Khalil Mack didn't want to overcelebrate Sunday's big home win over a division rival. Still 12 games left on a tough schedule.

Mack: "A dog that poop fast don't poop for long, man."

Agreed.

— Dan Wiederer (@danwiederer) September 30, 2019

Khalil Mack was thrilled with the way the Bears depth showed Sunday.

“We’ve got white Nick, black Nick. Oh man. … There are so many guys stepping in there and doing their job and doing it at a high level.”

— Dan Wiederer (@danwiederer) September 30, 2019

Here is how good No. 52 is:

I witnessed Brian Urlacher's entire career and got to watch Julius Peppers wreck shit for a few years.

And I still think Khalil Mack might be the best Bears defender of my lifetime.

— Robert Mays (@robertmays) September 29, 2019

Allen Robinson made some personal history on Sunday:

Six catches now by @AllenRobinson, tying for the most in his career in a first half.

— Chicago Bears (@BearsPR) September 29, 2019

Robinson also made this baller-iffic catch:

Let's talk about this TOE. DRAG. SWAG.@AllenRobinson | #MINvsCHI pic.twitter.com/2eFvZz9ILG

— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) September 29, 2019

Robinson now on pace for 96 catches an 1,120 receiving yards. It would be nice to get him in the end zone sooner, rather than later.

Javon Wims being a seventh-round pick was a steal:

https://twitter.com/thecheckdown/status/1178435183629856768

Wims got the call to start and answered the bell by catching four passes for 56 yards. A 37-yard long one was the highlight of the day, but don’t lose sight of the route-running. Sharp routes will get Wims noticed by coaches, which will ultimately get him more playing time, and eventually more targets, catches, receiving yards, and touchdowns. The second-year Georgia product is opening eyes.

And then there are the receivers in Minnesota:

Adam Thielen: "At some point, you're not going to be able to run the ball for 180 yards, even with the best running back in the NFL. That's when you have to be able to throw the ball. … You have to be able to hit the deep balls."

— Chad Graff (@ChadGraff) September 30, 2019

Ah, yes. The words of a man who knows his offense is broken.

I doubt Vikings fans are pleased with this explanation:

Mike Zimmer didn't go into detail about why he called a timeout at the end of the 2nd Q that led to a Bears 4th down conversion and eventual field goal but shoulders the 'blame' for it: "That was a bad mistake. That's my fault."

— Courtney Cronin (@CourtneyRCronin) September 30, 2019

Can you smell what Da Bears are cookin’?

https://twitter.com/TheRock/status/1178445247388385280

We spent plenty of time talking about the special teams unit when things were going poorly last year, so allow me to take a moment for some equal opportunity after a solid performance on Sunday. Place-kicker Eddy Piñeiro knocked in all three of his kicks and an extra point, outscoring the Vikings all by himself. Punter Pat O’Donnell deserves some love, too. He unleashed a banger with a 64-yard punt when the Bears needed to flip the field as part of a five-punt, 241-yard day that featured two that landed inside the 20. No one wants to see their favorite team’s punter on the field often, but O’Donnell has put in that work to get some much-deserved shine.

Oh, and that Sherrick McManis open-field tackle on the Vikings punt returner is arguably the best special teams play this team has made since Chris Tabor took over the show.

A live look at me whenever I get in the slow line at the grocery store:

https://twitter.com/thecheckdown/status/1178421322453417984

I wish the folks at CBS would have gotten this story right:

What a week. Great to see this story on ⁦@NFLonCBS⁩, even told incorrectly. (McCaskey brought it to the players.)

If you want to know the total history of the throwbacks, here is my piece on ⁦@WCGridiron⁩:https://t.co/XC1iYME6X3

Thanks all, and Bear Down! pic.twitter.com/2v74hJWdHW

— Jack M Silverstein (@readjack) September 29, 2019

CBS butchered nearly every fact about the 1936 throwbacks and the story around why they were chosen and why the Bears released their video. @NFLTNF can make amends when the Bears wear them Dec. 5 vs. the Cowboys. Please tell this story accurately.https://t.co/qvxzjL6av4

— Jack M Silverstein (@readjack) September 29, 2019

These were the coldest kicks I saw on the field yesterday:

https://www.instagram.com/p/B3AilSWFLlg/

For the record, I’ve always loved Swaggy P:

You already know bear Down gang best team in Football Super Bowl this yr best defense in the league @ChicagoBears 3-1

— Nick Young (@NickSwagyPYoung) September 30, 2019

And finally, we finish this round of Bullets by going to a consensus on how to describe Sunday’s win:

https://twitter.com/BoJack39/status/1178526320105529344

https://twitter.com/NickWilliams_98/status/1178525135466311681

https://twitter.com/SherrickM/status/1178490672460046338

Great Team Win #BearDown

— Taylor Gabriel (@TGdadon1) September 30, 2019

#BearTfDown y’all know how we rocking , good team win !

— Tarik Cohen (@TarikCohen) September 30, 2019