The Chicago Bears emerged victorious in another tight contest on Sunday, defeating the Minnesota Vikings, 19-17. But even they are tired of having to squeak out wins in the final moments of games.
Bears running back D’Andre Swift was pretty blunt when asked by Tom Brady what they need to improve on as he won Sunday’s LFG Player of the Game.
“First, we’ve been in too many close games,” Swift said. “With the defense playing like that, we’ve gotta capitalize off turnovers and go ahead and dominate for four quarters.”
Tom Brady’s LFG Player of the Game: Bears RB D’Andre Swift 🏆 Week 11 DIGITAL EXCLUSIVE
Sunday was the sixth time the Bears played in a one-score game this season, with all of their wins on their three-game winning streak coming by one score. But they improved to 7-3 with Sunday’s win, and unlike their first game against the Vikings, the Bears were able to get a comeback victory behind a strong defensive performance.
Chicago was able to force Minnesota quarterback J.J. McCarthy into trouble again, intercepting him twice in the first half on Sunday. McCarthy also threw for just 74 yards before the Vikings’ final offensive possession.
The Bears still nearly experienced some déjà vu at the hands of McCarthy and the Vikings, though. McCarthy more than doubled his passing yards for the day on Minnesota’s final offensive possession, leading the Vikings down the field before throwing a 15-yard touchdown pass to Jordan Addison to give his team a 17-16 lead with 50 seconds remaining.
However, the Bears prevented their fans from experiencing the same heartache they had back in Week 1 thanks to Devin Duvernay. The Bears’ returner took the ensuing kickoff 56 yards, placing Chicago at Minnesota’s 40-yard line. Thanks to a seven-yard run from Swift, the Bears were able to line up for a 48-yard field goal that Cairo Santos made at the buzzer to give his team the win.
“Just staying poised. Just staying poised,” Swift said on the Bears’ five-game winning streak in one-score games. “Special teams came through big for us at the right moment. We talked about it all week. The special teams had to give us a game-changing play, and they did at the right moment.”
Sunday’s win also gave quarterback Caleb Williams a league-leading five fourth-quarter comebacks, breaking a tie with Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield and Denver Broncos quarterback Bo Nix entering the day. But Williams wasn’t super impressive on Sunday, completing just 16 of 32 passes for 193 yards.
Swift and the Bears’ run game, meanwhile, had another standout performance. Swift led the way for the Bears’ run game, logging 90 yards on 4.3 yards per carry as Chicago put up 136 yards as a team.
It marked another impressive rushing performance from the Bears as well. Entering Sunday’s game, they had rushed for 917 yards for 5.9 yards per carry in their five games since the bye. Swift, who missed a game during that stretch, had rushed for 357 yards on 6.3 yards per carry in his four games ahead of Sunday’s matchup against the Vikings.
As Swift has shined, seventh-round rookie Kyle Monangai has burst onto the scene. He had a 176-yard performance against the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 9, and he rushed for a touchdown for the third time in five games on Sunday.
With the Bears’ run game serving as the impetus for their in-season turnaround, Swift made sure to give props to everyone involved in helping the rushing attack.
“Just everybody being on their details,” Swift said of the Bears’ improved ground game. “We knew it was close, but it wasn’t what we wanted it to be early on in the season. But, like you said, after the bye, everybody started clicking — O-line, perimeter blocking. They turned eight-yard gains into explosives. So, I feel like we did a great job today against a great opponent over there.”
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