Having been a Bears fan for over a decade, I’ve seen Sunday’s game more times than I’d like to admit.
Chicago was given a myriad of circumstantial advantages heading into the weekend’s tilt against a listing 1-4 Minnesota Vikings team. These advantages included (but were not limited to):
- A ‘Mini-Bye’ that afforded Chicago extra time to rest, scout, and prep for this game
- A surprise Wednesday announcement that Vikings’ superstar Justin Jefferson would be placed on IR, undoubtedly causing the Minnesota to scramble while planning their offense
- Plenty of tape on how the Vikings would handle Justin Fields defensively (thanks to Jalen Hurts providing a close comparison)
- A parade of returning Chicago starters (Kyler Gordon, Jaylon Johnson, Teven Jenkins, and Eddie Jackson) that looked to boost both sides of the ball
- All of the intrinsic momentum that winning your first game of the season provides
And yet, despite these advantages, Chicago lost the game and fell to 1-5 on the season.