I know, we lost the game, but I'm still posting under this thread because the boyz did show some real grit today and for that I'm proud of em. Down 21-3 with the Vikings doing as they please on offense while ours was sputtering, this had all the makings of a total blowout. Yet we not only did we make it a contest, at one point in the 4th we even had the lead. JF easily had his best performance of the season to date. I can't say that this was his "aha" game that I've been hoping to see from him, but he showed us more than a few glimpses as to why he's a #1 draft pick. He does seem like he's getting it. The key is he has to build from this.
I never like to single out a single player who costs us a dub, as it always takes a team to cause this. But two huge, I mean fucking HUGE mistakes by Ihmir Smith-Marsette, whoever the hell he is, pretty much decided the outcome today. His first big mistake was that needless penalty for blocking from behind on that fantastic run by Fields which otherwise would have resulted in a Bears TD, whereas instead we had to eventually settle for a FG. And huge mistake #2 was after making the reception for the 1st down on our final drive, he could have easily gotten OB instead of trying for a measly extra couple of yards before having the ball stripped. Even if he had managed to avoid that, it would have resulted in either the Bears taking their final TO or likely wasting a down to stop the clock. Get TF out of bounds pal!!!
I'm also going to flag DC Alan Williams for a shit game plan for much of the 1st half. Why he had the Bears playing prevent defense as if they had a 20 point lead in the final minutes of a game is beyond me. We have to tighten things up early on.
Still, all in all, it was a fun game, an exciting game. Yeah we lost but at least the boyz showed some real fight today.