CHICAGO – Bears safety Eddie Jackson aligned in center field, the lone defender deep against the Vikings offense. That's a rarity with Justin Jefferson on the field. Without Jefferson, receiver Jordan Addison saw Jackson at midfield and knew he had cornerback Tyrique Stevenson beat if he got a step on him down the sideline.
Vikings offense, without Justin Jefferson, found all kinds of ways to struggle vs. Bears
The rushing attack was nowhere to be found and quarterback Kirk Cousins couldn't create big plays.
October 16, 2023 at 11:34AM
With a smooth release, Addison beat Stevenson off the line and slipped past the defender without contact. Quarterback Kirk Cousins delivered a near-perfect pass about 30 yards downfield that Addison bobbled and couldn't corral while falling to the ground.
"That was a drop," Addison, who finished with three receptions for 28 yards and a touchdown, said in the visitor's locker room at Soldier Field after a 19-13 victory. "I got to keep running up under that, so I'll take that one on me."
Without Jefferson — the ignition switch in this Vikings offense — Cousins was efficient but struggled to connect downfield and create big plays. Cousins' longest completion went for a season-low 21 yards, gains he found to receiver K.J. Osborn and tight end T.J. Hockenson. He finished with only 181 passing yards on 31 attempts.
The Vikings couldn't often keep drives going. They went three-and-out on five possessions, four after halftime. They converted just two of 13 third-down attempts against one of the worst third-down defenses in the NFL. O'Connell noted the return of Bears defensive starters like cornerbacks Jaylon Johnson and Kyler Gordon, who had missed time due to injury.
O'Connell also didn't blame the quarterback. The Vikings once again had multiple drops, including from Hockenson, Addison and running back Alexander Mattison. Hockenson's six catches for 50 yards on eight targets led the team. Osborn had four catches for 48 yards.
"Honestly [with] the way Kirk was throwing it, feel like it could have been a much, much bigger day," O'Connell said.
Cousins pointed to a "combination of things." Mattison's drop preceded a delay-of-game penalty and a checkdown pass on third-and-14, followed by a punt.
"Tight man coverage, and we just couldn't seem to throw, make the catch, make the play," Cousins said. "Then other times, we just had some really long yardage where we were checking down underneath, and it was hard to get to the sticks."
The rushing attack was nowhere to be found. Without Jefferson, the Bears were more willing to drop a safety into the defensive front. Mattison was consistently hit at the line of scrimmage, if not behind it, while churning out 44 yards on 18 carries.
Mattison's longest run gained just 8 yards. Blocking continued to be an issue. On the opening drive, Mattison was tackled for no gain when left guard Ezra Cleveland missed Bears linebacker Jack Sanborn.
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The Vikings are one of just two NFL teams, including the Steelers, to not yet score a rushing touchdown this season.
The Vikings have amassed only 10 runs of at least 10 yards — all in games against the Chargers and Panthers in weeks 3 and 4. That meant the offense couldn't muster a 10-yard run against the Buccaneers, Eagles, Chiefs or Bears.
"We didn't handle [that] well," O'Connell said. "Just didn't see the space in there that we've kind of been able to generate over the last couple weeks."
Mike Conley was in Minneapolis, where he sounded the Gjallarhorn at the Vikings game, on Sunday during the robbery.
