Football justice was served Monday night in Minnesota. Justin Fields, who has endured a slew trials and tribulations during his short time in the NFL, was rewarded for his resilience while leading the Bears to a 12-10 victory over the Vikings.
The Bears quarterback shook off two fumbles that occurred earlier in the game and led the team on a game-winning drive while flashing his potential. He finished the night with 217 yards passing and 59 yards rushing while helping Chicago improve to 4-8. The loss dropped the Vikings to 6-6.
For what it lacked in scoring, Monday night's game made up for in intensity, especially in the second half. Chicago took a 9-3 lead, only to lose it after Joshua Dobbs hit T.J. Hockenson in the end zone on a 17-yard strike with under six minutes left.
Things got bleaker for Chicago after Fields fumbled the ball away on the Bears' ensuing drive. But Chicago's defense -- as it did numerous times on the night -- stepped up while forcing a punt and giving Fields and Co. a shot a redemption.
Fields didn't disappoint. His completions of 16 and 36 yards to D.J. Moore set up Cairo Santos' game-winning, 30-yard field goal with 10 seconds left.
Chicago had the ball for all but two plays during the opening quarter. Fields, who completed all 12 of his passes during the quarter, led the Bears on a pair of lengthy drives to open the game. The first ended with a missed field goal, but the second resulted in a chip shot by Santos.
The Bears wouldn't score again in the first half despite the defense coming up with two interceptions off of Dobbs, who helped the Vikings get on the board just before halftime on a short field goal.
Here are some takeaways from Monday's game:
Why the Bears won
Matt Eberflus' defense showed up, matching Brian Flores' unit on a night Justin Fields and Co. couldn't even muster a single touchdown. While Fields overcame a pair of fumbles to set up the game-winning field goal, it was really the other side of the ball that kept the Bears in it until the end. T.J. Edwards was all over the place patrolling the middle, Montez Sweat headlined a front that hit Joshua Dobbs nine times, and Jaylon Johnson nearly had two picks on his own as the secondary intercepted Dobbs on four different series. Their repeated stops enabled Fields and D.J. Moore to do just enough late, and Cairo Santos' four field goals did the rest.
Why the Vikings lost
The Joshua Dobbs magic all but completely evaporated. A week after the Broncos stole the ball from the Vikings' storybook fill-in to win a close one, Dobbs sunk to a new low trying to fit throws into heavy traffic; while at least one of his four picks came off the hands of a receiver, he could've easily thrown a fifth, too. While he showed resilience on a late touchdown strike to T.J. Hockenson, which briefly put Minnesota ahead, it was too little, too late for a Kevin O'Connell offense that kept pinning itself deep and failing to convert third- or fourth-down tries. Brian Flores' "D" did its best to lead the way, logging two takeaways of its own, but it wasn't enough.
Turning point
Facing a third-and-10 from the Vikings' 49 with 1:06 left, Fields let one rip down the middle of the field and hit a wide-open D.J. Moore to put Chicago in field goal range. This came after practically 59 minutes of stale, overly conservative, screen-heavy strategy from the Bears' offense, but it saved the day, setting up Santos' game-winning 30-yarder.
Play of the game
Give it to Bears corner Kyler Gordon, who made an acrobatic grab on the fourth pick of Dobbs, scooping a ball deflected by his teammate in the trenches:
What's next
The Vikings (6-6) will rest on a Week 13 bye before visiting the Raiders (5-7), who just fell to the Chiefs, on Dec. 13. The Bears (4-8) will also enjoy a week off before returning in Week 14 to host the NFC North-leading Lions (8-3), who were upset by the rival Packers on Thanksgiving.