Nov. 17--The game clocks at Soldier Field malfunctioned Sunday, forcing significant portions of the Bears' 21-13 win over the Vikings to be played without them, including the decisive sequence.
"Clocks here are (expletive)," Vikings coach Mike Zimmer seethed afterward.
Officials kept time on the field during the Vikings' final drive, which began at their 34-yard line with 2 minutes, 3 seconds remaining. An official announced the time remaining over the public address system between each play.
Rookie quarterback Teddy Bridgewater, with his team trailing by 8 with no timeouts, was forced to operate the hurry-up offense without the benefit of seeing the time remaining.
"It was tough trying to communicate the time and trying to call a play at the same time when we were working against the time," he said. "It was one of those deals where we had to go execute the calls and trust that whenever it was time to spike the ball, the coaches would tell us when."
The Bears deferred comment to SMG, the company that manages the stadium.
"We had two technicians here like we do for every game, and they couldn't figure out what was wrong," said Tim LeFevour, general manager of Soldier Field. "We believe it could have been a software issue, but they're not sure yet. We're looking into it. Daktronics is the No. 1 scoreboard supplier in the NFL, so you feel pretty good about things when you have two technicians here, but they couldn't figure it out."
The NFL did not comment in response to an inquiry about whether the Vikings have any recourse or if the Bears could face discipline. The league is expected to work with the Bears to ensure the issue is corrected.
The clocks began malfunctioning late in the second quarter. The final minutes of the first half were played with the main end-zone clocks showing 0:00 and only the clocks on the midfield video boards operational.
Officials began the third quarter by announcing over the PA system that they would keep time on the field. None of the clocks in the stadium operated between then and 2:53 remaining in the third quarter.
The clocks went out again with 2:54 left in the fourth.
"It was musical clocks," Zimmer said.
Faked out: The Bears overcame two first-quarter special teams errors. Robbie Gould missed a 47-yard field goal wide right on the opening drive. It was his second miss of the season and first in four attempts from beyond 40 yards.
Four plays later, Vikings safety Andrew Sendejo gained 48 yards on a fake punt, which set up a touchdown for a 10-0 lead.
Receiver Adam Thielen received the snap as the upback. He gave an inside handoff to Sendejo, who had lined up at right tackle and ran a sweep left behind two pulling blockers.
"I came out of my stance, and I (saw) these guys running toward the sideline," said Bears safety Danny McCray, who was blocked on the edge. "They actually ran a real offensive play out of their punt scheme. That was a good play."
Going fourth: The Bears converted 2 of 3 fourth-down attempts. Running back Matt Forte converted on fourth-and-1 twice on the 16-play fourth-quarter touchdown drive.
The failed attempt was a quarterback sweep on fourth-and-goal from the 1 in the third quarter.
"It was a play that we had prepared for over the last couple of weeks," coach Marc Trestman said. "We wanted to get out ahead and it didn't work, but there is no reason it couldn't have worked."
Ice dance: Defensive end Willie Young recorded his eighth sack and first in four games. In his celebration, he had some fun with the recent chill.
"That's the first time going ice fishing in Chicago," he said. "I had to cut a hole in the ice. You don't hold the spinning reel (the) conventional way. You've got to hold it kind of backward upside-down.
"I was able to come away with a little old perch. I thought it was going to be like a musky or something on an 8-pound test line, but it didn't happen."
Numbers up: Forte had 175 yards from scrimmage, a season high that tied for the sixth-highest total of his career. He had 117 yards on 26 carries, only the second time this season he has had more than 20 carries.
Tribune columnist David Haugh contributed.
rcampbell@tribpub.com
Twitter @Rich_Campbell
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