The Chicago Bears didn’t get much of a push from interim coach Thomas Brown.
Brown replaced the fired Matt Eberflus the day after Thanksgiving but instead of a spark, the Bears traveled to San Francisco and were beaten by the 49ers.
Minnesota (11-2) hosts Chicago as the Bears’ losing streak is at seven games heading into Monday night’s divisional matchup against the Redskins Vikings.
The six-game winning streak has the Vikings on the heels of the Eagles and Lions in the NFC home race. Minnesota is in the playoffs, clinching a spot with a loss to the Seahawks on Sunday night. Most recently, the Vikings scored 42 points at home against Atlanta in Week 14.
There aren’t many places that can be higher than US Bank Stadium when the Vikings are playing well.
Look for Minnesota to jump off to a fast start against a Bears team with a first-year quarterback and a coaching staff that is clearly in flux this time of year.
–Training, stupid
The decision by the Bears to fire a head coach in the middle of the season for the first time in franchise history shows just how bad things were at Halas Hall.
Eberflus left them helpless after his mistake on the play against the Lions on Thanksgiving Day, which was exposed for the whole world to see.
With 36 seconds left in the fourth quarter and Chicago trailing 23-20 at Detroit’s 41-yard line, Eberflus elected not to call it a third down following a sack on quarterback Caleb Williams.
Instead, the Bears wasted 30 seconds trying to get organized at the line of scrimmage, throwing an incomplete pass as time expired. Therefore, they were unable to attempt the game-tying 58-yard field goal.
After the game, wide receiver Keenan Allen didn’t seem to directly blame the coaching staff, telling the media, “We did enough as players to win this game.”
In other words, the players hold their own destiny.
Unfortunately, the scrimmage against the Lions was another example of Eberflus being out of his depth as a head coach this season.
Two weeks before the loss to the Lions, the Bears had a chance to score a game-winning field goal against the Packers, but instead of making another play to make the kick short, Eberflus ran just 27 seconds off the clock for Green Bay to block. 46th place.
–Key pick: Vikings relievers
Jordan Addison lit up the second Chicago in the first meeting of Nov. 24 with eight catches for 162 yards and a touchdown and went 8-133-3 against the Falcons last week.
The Bears may shake things up now that Eberflus is no longer calling the shots on defense, but Chicago is sitting in a similar pick-your-poison situation with Justin Jefferson over Addison. Tight end TJ Hockenson also had seven receptions against the Bears last month and had 11 catches for 100 yards and a touchdown in two games in this matchup last season.
Quarterback Sam Darnold is spreading the wealth in this one with Jefferson and Addison recording six receptions each and Addison over 60 yards.
Prop: Combined double bet: Addison 6-plus receptions, Addison 60-plus receiving yards (+248 FanDuel)
–Well prepared bear trainers
Before the Bears canned Eberflus, he fired his offensive coordinator, Shane Waldron. Last season, he fired offensive coordinator Luke Getsy.
Thomas Brown, who took over for Waldron as coordinator, is now the interim head coach.
While the Bears’ performance on the field warranted some change, this revolving door of coordinators and head coaches isn’t doing much for their rookie quarterback.
There are legitimate concerns about the coaching staff’s ability to prepare during the week and design a plan ahead of the game.
Out of all 32 teams, the Bears averaged the fewest three-pointers in the first half, 7.4, and on the road, that average dropped to 4.7.
Given their pool of coaches and staff being promoted to new positions to fill the gap, one can wonder if there is a lack of quality due to a lack of experience.
And with the Bears yet to close the first half in all six road games this season, it’s hard to see them turning things around on Monday night against a Vikings-level team.
Best bet: Vikings 1H -3.5 (-115 DraftKings)
–Michael Nwaneri, Field Level Media
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