Vikings LB Eric Kendricks did not have a good Monday.
Kendricks, arguably the best off-ball linebacker in the league, was snubbed from the 2022 Pro Bowl. He also had an uncharacteristically down game for him on Monday night.
Kendricks tallied seven tackles and two missed tackles, per PFF. In the fourth quarter, the linebacker tried to prevent Bears QB Justin Fields from picking up a first down with his feet. Fields slid past the first-down marker and Kendricks lowered his shoulder to make the hit. The two collided and Kendricks ended up ejected from the game for the hit.
The Vikings linebacker talked about that play on Wednesday:
“I didn’t know what to do. I’ve gotten penalties called on me in a game that I count on one hand that were not penalties,” Kendricks said. “I pride myself on playing clean, pride myself on being on point. It’s definitely something I didn’t want to happen, but it happened and I kind of didn’t know what to do.”
Here is the play:
#Vikings LB Eric Kendricks has been ejected for delivering this helmet-to-helmet shot on Justin Fields pic.twitter.com/uhiQpu7lE5
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) December 21, 2021
In the end, it didn’t matter. The Bears scored one more time to fall to the Vikings 17-9. Minnesota moved to 7-7 with the Week 15 victory.
