The Bears lost quarterback Caleb Williams to a hamstring injury and fell to the Vikings 9-3 in an unexpected defensive battle Sunday at rainy Soldier Field.
Williams was injured midway through the fourth quarter when he scrambled to his left on first-and-goal from the 6. He slid to the ground in obvious pain without being touched, was helped to the sideline and then carted to the locker room.
Three plays later, Cairo Santos' potential game-tying 23-yard field goal attempt was blocked by Isaiah Rodgers with 6:21 remaining in the final period.
After Will Reichard's 39-yard field goal increased the Vikings' lead to 9-3 with 1:09 remaining, the Bears took over at their own 35 with 1:00 to play.
With backup quarterback Tyson Bagent completing four passes for 53 yards — three for 32 yards to Luther Burden III and a 21-yarder to Rome Odunze — the Bears reached the Minnesota 12. But on fourth-and-2 with :01 left, Bagent was sacked by edge rusher Dallas Turner.
"We said it at halftime to the team that it was going to come down to the very end," said coach Ben Johnson. "When you're facing a good opponent like this, [rainy] conditions were the way they were, points were going to be few and far between when it's like that, so you kind of feel that in the first half, and sure enough, it came down to the very end there.
"Proud of how our guys went out and they fought and they battled. It's not an easy game to compete in. You're an offensive player and you're not getting many touches, and yet you just want to find a way to get out of that thing with a 'W.'"
Before exiting, Williams completed 15 of 26 passes for 138 yards with one interception and a 56.2 passer rating. Johnson told reporters after the game that more would be known about the severity of the quarterback's hamstring injury on Monday. The coach added that he had just seen Williams and he was "in good spirits."
"I'm actually happy it's nothing with the knee," Johnson said. "That was my first inclination. But the hamstring could be pretty damaging as well. We'll see how bad it is tomorrow and we'll go from there."
The Bears (59) and Vikings (39) combined to score 98 points in their season-opening wins, the most in Week 1 by Week 2 opponents in NFL history. But Sunday's NFC North clash was an entirely different game, with neither team scoring a touchdown after combining for 13 TDs a week earlier.
Johnson felt that the rain that fell throughout the day greatly impacted the game.
"The weather was a major factor in this game," he said. "It was the big story of this game. Both defensive coordinators did a great job making it very challenging for the opposing offense. I thought that was the tale of the tape. And when you get into a game like this where every play is critical, that's where the turnovers really hurt you, and obviously the blocked field goal really hurts as well."
After allowing 39 points and 478 yards to the Panthers a week earlier, the Bears defense rebounded by keeping the Vikings out of the end zone and permitting only 246 yards, 11 first downs and a 23.1% third-down conversion rate (3 of 13).
"Proud of how our defense played throughout that game," Johnson said. "I thought they really competed their tails off and kept us in it for the most part. They brought a lot of energy, and it was good to see them respond the way that they did."
The defense allowed Minnesota to reach the red zone on only one of nine possessions — and that came on the game's opening drive that stalled at the Bears' 17 and resulted in Reichard's 35-yard field goal.
"They came out flying around," Johnson said. "I thought we had a great plan on that side of the ball, made things challenging. We always talk about wanting to outrun and outhit our opponent, and it felt like we had 11 guys around the ball for the majority of the game, so that was good to see."
The Bears, however, committed eight penalties for 58 yards in the game and were unable to score on possessions that reached Minnesota's 1, 5 and 12.
The Vikings took a 3-0 lead on the game's opening possession on Reichard's 35-yard field goal. Minnesota settled for the kick after Dillon Thieneman prevented receiver Justin Jefferson from catching a touchdown pass from Carson Wentz in the back of the end zone on third-and-6 from the 17, hitting the star receiver as the ball arrived.
The Bears tied the score 3-3 on Santos' 50-yard field goal. Holder Tory Taylor did an excellent job of pulling down a high snap. The kick came after Williams masterfully avoided multiple defenders on a nifty 6-yard scramble.
The Vikings retook a 6-3 lead midway through the second quarter on Reichard's 49-yard field goal.
While the Bears defense did not allow a TD in the first half, the offense mustered only three points and 93 total yards. On one possession late in the second quarter, the unit drew penalties on three straight and four of five plays.
"You look at what got us in the first half offensively," Johnson said. "We had too many penalties. I think we had seven in the first half. Really threw us off course a little bit. And against a good defense like that, you can't shoot yourself in the foot."
The Bears opened the second half by reaching the Vikings' 1. But on first-and-goal, defensive lineman Jalen Redmond forced a D'Andre Swift fumble that was recovered by Rodgers at the 1.
On the previous play, Williams had rolled to his right and then back to his left before lofting a perfect pass to receiver Kalif Raymond, who ran out of bounds at the 1 for an 8-yard gain on third-and-8.
"We get a little momentum coming out of halftime there and make it all the way down, and we give it up," Johnson said. "We had some points in the bag, I thought. We've got to make sure we capitalize on every opportunity we get when you face a good defense like that."
The Bears ran the ball well on their opening possession of the second half, gaining 12, 11, 15, and 12 yards. For the game, they rushed for 134 yards on 31 carries. Kyle Monangai ran for 47 yards on 10 attempts, Swift added 45 yards on 16 carries and Williams had 42 yards on five runs.
"It seemed like we hit a few," Johnson said. "Our guys came out and were all on the same page. It just felt like the running game in general was a little bit sporadic throughout that game. Out of halftime it was a little bit better, and then other parts of the game it was a little bit more challenging to get that going.
"When I looked at it at halftime, I think the backs were averaging two yards a carry. Obviously not something we want to hang our hat on. We'll look at it and find out why exactly. I was proud of how they competed there in the second half. Gave us some opportunities."
