On Sunday, the Chicago Bears fell 19-13 to the Minnesota Vikings, erasing any good vibes after their first victory of the season. For Chicago, their biggest loss of the game was the injury to their starting quarterback, Justin Fields, who suffered a right wrist/hand injury in the second half. Undrafted rookie Tyson Bagent took over in his place, nearly leading a comeback before throwing a costly interception.
The Bears are now 1-5, which gives them around a 2% chance of making the playoffs. That isn’t promising for a team that has struggled on both sides of the ball and has yet to win a divisional game under head coach Matt Eberflus.
Here’s everything we know about Chicago’s Week 6 loss.
Final Score: 19 Vikings, 13 Bears
Keys to the Game
Justin Fields’ Injury: Over the last two weeks, Justin Fields had thrown for 617 passing yards and 8 touchdowns. On Sunday, Fields couldn’t get much going in the air. Despite going 6-for-10 passing, he only had 58 passing yards and threw 1 interception. Fields left the game in the second half due to a wrist/hand injury and i
t is unclear how long he will be out.
Tyson Bagent’s Debut: With the injury to Justin Fields, it was the official debut of Tyson Bagent in the regular season. Bagent threw the ball well, going 10-for-14 for 83 yards. He had a rushing touchdown that kept the game close, but he didn’t have the ability to lead the team to victory on Sunday. His final pass of the game was an interception that sealed the win for Minnesota.
Defensive Improvements: The Bears defense looked much better on Sunday. A switch was flipped following the loss to the Denver Broncos, and it carried over their last two games, despite this loss. Chicago was 11-for-13 on third down as a defense and held Minnesota to 220 total yards. It was an impressive showing for a unit that has been lacking over the last few years.
It was over when...
This game was over when Tyson Bagent threw an interception to Byron Murphy with two minutes left in the fourth quarter. Before that, the offense was driving and in total control, down 19-13 and looking to take the late lead.
3 Stars of the Game
***D’Onta Foreman: What a game D’Onta Foreman had. He was the lead rusher for the Bears on Sunday, rushing for 65 yards on 15 attempts. Foreman had some very important plays in the second half, securing multiple first downs in important situations.
**Cairo Santos: Without Cairo Santos, the Bears would not have had a chance to make a fourth-quarter comeback. Santos kept Chicago close before their offense had a spark in the second half. Santos was 2-for-2 on his field goal attempts and 1-for-1 on extra points.
*Tyson Bagent: Yes, Tyson Bagent threw the game-losing interception, but he had a heck of a game for his NFL debut. Coming off the bench, Bagent went 10-for-14, with 83 passing yards and one rushing touchdown. He pumped life into a dying offense, that likely would’ve only had 6 points without him on Sunday.
What's Next
Next week, the Chicago Bears will host the Las Vegas Raiders at 12 p.m. CT. This will be the first meeting between the two teams since 2021, where the Bears beat the Raiders, 20-9. It’s unclear who the starting quarterback will be for that game, depending on the severity of Fields’ injury.
