Bears Lose Fifth Straight Despite Comeback Against Vikings

Good morning Chicago fans! Happy Thanksgiving week! It feels like an important time to set aside differences, let go of frustrations, and forget about the awful sports we have to watch all the time.

And if you’re seeing any family or friends this week who don’t get along, just remember that Chicago athletes can hang out even though they’re all dealing with losing records!

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RESULTS

L - Vikings 30, Bears 27 (OT): Divisional blowout turned into a wild OT thriller

• Caleb Williams put on his Superman cape and carried the Bears to 11 points in 1:47 to tie the game and send it to OT!! Shoutout to Cairo Santos for a beautifully executed onside kick!

• Caleb (32/47, 340 yards, 2 TD, 0 INT) played great and had big numbers because of the last minute comeback. The TDs were his first passing TDs since the London game!

• The slow start streak is technically over…? It was an ugly first couple drives on both sides of the ball, but Jonathan Owens stripped Aaron Jones on the goal line on the Vikings’ first possession. The Bears eventually scored a TD, and it was the first time they scored first ALL SEASON.

• Cairo Santos’ first field goal attempt was blocked. Pretty sure the whole city saw that coming after last week’s crushing ending.

• Despite a productive passing game and 27 points, the offense was unimpressive as a whole through 3 quarters. The run game was non-existent, receivers were dropping balls again, and 3rd downs were less efficient (6/17) than last game.

• Bears running backs combined for 32 yards on 15 carries 🤢

• The defense struggled for the 5th straight week. Sam Darnold picked them apart, certified Bears-killer Aaron Jones ran for 106 yards and a TD, Jordan Addison (162 yards) and TJ Hockenson (114 yards) found open grass all afternoon, and they flew down the field in OT without much resistance for the game-winning field goal.

• Somehow, the best receiver on the planet Justin Jefferson was held to 2 catches and 27 yards

• Darnold (22/34, 330 yards, 2 TD, 0 INT) won the battle of USC quarterbacks with a lights-out performance. They were even down to their 3rd-string LT for most of the game 🤷‍♂️

• Ugly sequence in a 7-7 game changed everything: long 3rd down conversion to Keenan Allen down the sideline was overturned, field goal was blocked, a Jonathan Owens interception didn’t count because of pass interference, then the Vikings scored

• Kyler Gordon was flying around, and Kevin Byard led the team in tackles (13) again

• DeAndre Carter let a punt bounce off his leg, leading to an easy Vikings TD to take a 24-10 lead

• I expected either A) blowout loss where Flus gets outcoached and the defense looks lost, or B) close win because of the Vikings’ latest hiccups and the Bears’ desperation and slight momentum. Somehow we got both?!?!

SEASON RECORD: 4-7 (Last place)

⭐ STAR OF THE WEEK ⭐

Caleb Williams

The franchise QB was the lone bright spot and put the team on his back!

🎥 PLAY OF THE WEEK 🎥

Caleb Williams pass to D’Andre Swift

NEWS & NOTES

Caleb Williams set the franchise record for passing yards by a rookie! He has 2,356 yards on the season.

Re-signed safety and Hard Knocks star Adrian Colbert to the active roster, elevated WR Collin Johnson to the active roster

Matt Eberflus is 5-18 as head coach in one-score games

They submitted the Packers’ blocked field goal play to the NFL to see if there should have been a penalty called, and the NFL ruled it was clean

You can do a virtual history tour of Halas Hall from home!

Only one fumble added to the takeaway totals. Still not halfway!

Next up ➡ 10-1 Lions are ready to feast on the Bears on Thanksgiving Day in Detroit. Would another loss actually lead to a Matt Eberflus firing mid-season?!?!?

TROPHY TRACKER (5/10 ➡ 🏆)

RESULTS

L - Ducks 3, Blackhawks 2: Ugly collapse as the losses pile up

• Ducks scored 2 late 3rd period goals to take the lead

• Luke Richardson’s strange line blender actually worked! Connor Bedard assisted on both Jason Dickinson goals in the Anderson-Dickinson-Bedard top line

W - Blackhawks 3, Panthers 1: They love playing the reigning Cup Champions!

• Teuvo Teravainen scored on their lone power play opportunity early in the 1st

• Panthers finished 33-20 in shots and went into full-on attack mode in the 3rd period as Petr Mrazek stood tall for the win

L - Flyers 3, Blackhawks 2 (OT): Another blown 3rd period lead

• Lukas Reichel and Pat Maroon (1st as a Blackhawk) scored to give the Hawks a 2-0 lead even though the Flyers dominated play

• 2023 7th overall pick Matvei Michkov scored the OT game-winner

SEASON RECORD: 7-12-2 (16 points)

⭐ STAR OF THE WEEK ⭐

Petr Mrazek

2 G, 66 saves on 70 attempts, .943 SV%

🎥 PLAY OF THE WEEK 🎥

Connor Bedard to Jason Dickinson goal

NEWS & NOTES

Connor Bedard continues to express his frustration. The team is losing, and he is shouldering the blame for the lack of offense. I feel bad for him. He is extremely talented, and it’s not clicking right now. Hopefully, the coaches can figure something out to help him play more free and get his confidence back.

Since Michkov scored the game-winner to beat the Hawks, I decided to check in on the 2023 draft class, featuring the one and only Connor Bedard. Here are 2024 stats by draft order:

1) Connor Bedard - 3 goals, 12 assists, 15 points

2) Leo Carlsson - 6 goals, 5 assists, 11 points

3) Adam Fantilli - 3 goals, 6 assists, 9 points

4) Will Smith - 2 goals, 2 assists, 4 points

7) Matvei Michkov - 7 goals, 9 assists, 16 points

Taylor Hall said his scratch a week ago was completely unexpected and communication could have been better leading up to it 🤔

Andreas Athanasiou injured his wrist shortly after joining the AHL and will be out for 4-6 weeks

TROPHY TRACKER (2/10 ➡ 🏆)

RESULTS

W - Bulls 122, Pistons 112: Shooting clinic by the Bulls!

• Zach LaVine (25p), Nikola Vucevic (29p), and Coby White (25p) became the first trio in Bulls history and 7th in NBA history to each score 25+ points and make 5+ 3-pointers in a game

• LaVine scored 18 points on 6 3-pointers in the 4th quarter to close it out

• Jalen Duren had 15 points and 22 (!) rebounds for the Pistons

L - Bucks 122, Bulls 106: The Giannis Antetokounmpo show 🎬

• Bulls offense stalled out with a 16-point 4th quarter as Giannis (41p) took over

• Torrey Craig got a spot start and filled up the stat sheet (15p/6r) despite limited playing time this season

• LaVine was the only Bull shooting the ball well and finished with 27 points

W - Bulls 136, Hawks 122 (NBA Cup): 1st NBA Cup win ever!!

• Bulls offense clicked on all cylinders with a 57.0%/44.2%/90.5% shooting night

• 7 Bulls scored in double figures as LaVine (26), Coby (20), and Ayo Dosunmu (20) all scored 20+

L - Grizzlies 142, Bulls 131: So quick to forget how to play defense

• Both teams were 19-42 from 3PT in the shootout

• Scotty Pippen Jr. balled out in his dad’s house with a 30p/10a double-double

• Matas Buzelis had his best game as a pro with 14 points and 3 rebounds in 29 (!) minutes

SEASON RECORD: 7-11 (T/9th place in East)

⭐ STAR OF THE WEEK ⭐

Zach LaVine

Efficient scoring is off the charts!

26.8p/3.8a/4.3r per game, 18/35 (51.4%) 3PT shooting

🎥 PLAY OF THE WEEK 🎥

Matas Buzelis dunk

NEWS & NOTES

Bulls legend Bob Love passed away at the age of 81

Checking in on their new play style this season…3rd in the NBA with 42.6 3PA per game, 4th with a 38.5 3P%, and 1st with a 104.78 PACE.

Vooch chimed in on the CHSN issue plaguing fans with a post on X 😂

TROPHY TRACKER (1/10 ➡ 🏆)

TRADES

Acquired RHP Eli Morgan from the Cleveland Guardians for Single-A OF Alfonsin Rosario

• Love the early strike to get bullpen help!!

• Morgan is a middle-relief option estimated to make $1M in 2025 and is under team control through 2027

• Just pitched in the playoffs for the Guardians, so he has proven himself in pressure situations! Career playoff stats: 7.1 IP, 2.45 ERA, 0.96 FIP, 11 K, 2 BB

• As any reliever, there are risks. He had a AAA stint this past season. His 2024 season (1.93 ERA) was elite, but 2023 (4.01 ERA) and 2022 (3.38 ERA) were not special. He’s not known for high velocity and relies on the Cubs’ favorite approach of pitchability, although he had a 1.441 WHIP in 2023. Who knows which version the Cubs will get!

• Drafted by the 2017 Cleveland Indians and current Cubs GM Carter Hawkins

• Rosario could become a star because of his raw talent. His power/speed combo has been impressive, but his plate discipline and strikeout rate have been poor so far. After Zyhir Hope had a great year in the Dodgers organization following the Michael Busch trade, I think it’s fair to dread the worst.

Acquired C Matt Thaiss from the Los Angeles Angels for cash considerations

• Hopefully, Thaiss slots in as the 3rd MLB catcher who spends most of his time in AAA next season

• Left-handed hitting catcher with rough offensive numbers in his 6 year career

NEWS & NOTES

Roster moves at the tender deadline:

Agreed to terms on a 2025 contract: Julian Merryweather, Matt Thaiss, Keegan Thompson

Tendered contracts to arbitration eligible players: Eli Morgan, Isaac Paredes, Nate Pearson, Justin Steele

Non-tendered: Adbert Alzolay, Brennen Davis, Nick Madrigal, Mike Tauchman, Trey Wingenter, Patrick Wisdom

• The surprise here is Tauchman - hopefully the Palatine native tests the market and ends up returning on a cheaper deal! If not, the Cubs should be set at OF anyways with prospects on the brink of the majors.

Added Owen Caissie and Ben Cowles to the 40-man roster

Hired Tyler Zombro as a special assistant to work with the entire organization’s pitching infrastructure

Pat Hughes and Ron Coomer signed extensions to continue Cubs radio broadcasts! 🥳

Shota Imanaga finished 4th in NL Rookie of the Year voting and 5th in NL Cy Young voting!

Pat Murphy won the NL Manager of the Year…meaning the Cubs stole their rival’s manager and paid him more than any other manager, only to watch his replacement win 90 games, win the division, and win Manager of the Year in Milwaukee.

TROPHY TRACKER (5/10 ➡ 🏆)

DeAndre Carter

In the midst of a 5-game losing streak, fans want accountability.

After calling for his teammates to get away from a punt against the Vikings, the ball bounced off the ground and hit Carter in the leg. The Vikings recovered and quickly scored a touchdown.

This was a refreshing and honest statement by Carter after the game. He took the fall and even apologized to his special teams coordinator Richard Hightower.

Kyle Davidson and Ryan Poles deserve a lot of blame for this season.

I see the rage against head coaches all over social media. Luke Richardson and Matt Eberflus would be fired by petition in 1 hour of a fan walking the streets of Chicago. I do think the Eberflus era needs to end, but Kyle from Chicago and Poles are responsible for their teams.

The Blackhawks were supposed to “take a step” this season, per Davidson. A step that results in not-last-place, but not necessarily a giant step. This rebuild is far from being complete, and nearly all of their draft picks since Davidson was hired as GM haven’t tasted the NHL.

They did stray from their plan a bit last offseason. Instead of ONLY plugging in 1-year contracts and giving prospects early looks at the NHL, they decided to shell out longer deals for established, productive veterans (Teuvo and Bertuzzi for example). The goals were three-fold: increase the respectability and win total this season, establish a winning culture for the future, and HELP CONNOR BEDARD. So far, every goal has failed.

Bedard is frustrated, they can’t score any goals, and they look as hopeless as they did last season before bringing in a ton of real-life NHL-caliber players. Davidson’s vision, for just this season, has fallen off the rails. Every new acquisition has regressed, and the Blackhawks have the 2nd lowest point percentage in the league.

The Bears were supposed to be good! I believed it. Ryan Poles said it on Hard Knocks - “It’s time to win.” Well, here we are, and they are 4-7 with very little hope to even match last season’s pedestrian 7-10 showing.

There is a CHANCE the roster is less flawed than it currently looks. There is a CHANCE Poles could hire a second coach and see much better results. He could see this through to the glorious end. But even if that’s the case, he’s still responsible for this incompetent coach and a poorly run football program.

The worst-case scenario is on the table, though. The up and coming roster could be less than we hoped for. The elite group of receivers haven’t played with the effort or precision we expected. The offensive line might need 4 new starters. The vaunted defense can’t buy a sack and allows a billion yards every week.

Coaching could turn it around, but if not - this organizational overhaul that started in 2022, the good vibes and momentum, the proven talent recruited to Chicago - it could all be worthless and lead to our worst nightmare: another reset.

Both GMs are currently missing the mark. They need to redirect the ship NOW.

Meghan Montemurro - The Cubs need a superstar. Here’s why it won’t be Juan Soto (Chicago Tribune)

Jori Epstein - Inside Caleb Williams’ first week with a new play-caller (Yahoo Sports)

Ben Pope - Teuvo Teravainen senses Blackhawks’ confidence levels getting lower (Chicago Sun-Times)

Scott Powers - Projecting the Blackhawks’ future roster and salary cap: Part 2 (The Athletic)

Vincent Goodwill - Bulls’ Zach LaVine is turning some heads (Yahoo Sports)

Sahadev Sharma - A look at the Cubs’ latest addition to the bullpen (The Athletic)

Thanks for reading! Have a great Thanksgiving! You may want to keep the TV off and keep your eyes away from Detroit…