Bears Blitz

Published by Ross Read on December 1, 2013
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Chicago Bears

The Chicago Bears blow a 10-point lead in the fourth quarter and lose to the Minnesota Vikings in overtime. 

Final Score

Bears: 20

Vikings: 23

Final Analysis for the Chicago Bears

Passing Offense: Alshon Jeffery broke his own franchise record for receiving yards, but Josh McCown was largely ineffective down the stretch. He still finished with 355 yards through the air.  

Passing Defense: The Bears completely shut down Christian Ponder. However, they let Matt Cassel torch them. Terrible coverage by the secondary, which played very soft against an average receiving corps. 

Rushing Offense: Matt Forte had a good game on the ground. His tough runs in overtime looked like they should have been enough for the win.   

Rushing Defense: Adrian Peterson finished with 211 yards on the ground. That’s back-to-back weeks this bad run defense has given up over 200 yards on the ground to a team. 

Special Teams: At the end of the game, there was a bad punt by Adam Podlesh. Robbie Gould looked like he let the pressure get to him and missed a routine kick in overtime which would have been the game-winner. 

Coaching: Marc Trestman got too conservative with his play-calling in the fourth quarter. This allowed the Vikings to get back in the game. That and Mel Tucker’s poor defense. 

First-Half Analysis for the Chicago Bears

Passing Offense: Alshon Jeffery is on his way towards having a big game. Josh McCown has been forced to complete a lot of checkdowns, causing the offense to bog down late in drives. 

Passing Defense: Christian Ponder is not much of a threat to throw the football. The Bears have done a nice job getting pressure on him. 

Rushing Offense: Matt Forte has been able to grind out some tough yards, and there was a nice run by Michael Bush on his only carry.  

Rushing Defense: For the second week in a row this defense has given up a long touchdown on the ground to a wide receiver, with this one coming from Cordarrelle Patterson. The Vikings are already over 100 yards on the ground. 

Special Teams: Robbie Gould continues his great season. Very poor job by Devin Hester on punt returns. He’s late to call for fair catches and his inability to tell his teammates to get out of the way almost caused a turnover. 

Coaching: Mel Tucker got fired up after the touchdown from the Vikings and it seems to be working. The Bears were able to knock Christian Ponder out the game and really limit Minnesota on offense.  

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