The Bears walked out of Minnesota with a win and a 7-3 record, but let’s not pretend it was easy. That 19-17 W over the Vikings felt more like surviving a bar brawl than winning a chess match. Yes, the scoreboard says victory, but the tape tells a messier story. A few Bears looked like they were actively trying to give the game away. And while Chicago may be sitting atop the NFC North, some dudes on this roster need to take a long look in the mirror after that Week 11 slop-fest.
Here are five of the biggest losers from a game that should’ve been a cruise but turned into a damn escape room.
1. Caleb Williams
Let’s get this out of the way: Caleb Williams didn’t throw a pick. That’s a win in itself. But let’s be honest — everything else about his game was a mixed bag. He wasn’t a disaster, but he definitely wasn’t dialed in either. The Vikings blitzed him mercilessly — on 64.7% of his dropbacks, maybe even higher. Flores kept the gas pedal down all night.
Williams missed DJ Moore on a throw that could’ve changed the tone of the game. He overshot Rome Odunze on a couple key third downs. Even some of his checkdowns looked rushed. A 50% completion rate? That’s a season-worst. And the 68.9 passer rating? Only better than his meltdown against the Saints.
Yes, protecting the football matters. But this offense isn’t designed to play it safe — it’s meant to punch teams in the mouth. If Cairo Santos and Devin Duvernay don’t come through late, this conversation’s a whole lot uglier.
Bottom line: Williams needs to start driving wins, not just surviving them.
That said, let’s not overreact. Brian Flores has a knack for making life miserable for even elite quarterbacks. Caleb got the win, and in the thick of the season, stacking Ws is what matters. But the margin for error? It’s shrinking.
2. DJ Moore
Remember when DJ Moore was the alpha WR1 this offense could lean on? Me neither. Moore straight-up ghosted this game. Three targets? That’s a slap in the face to anyone who thinks he’s worth that massive contract. One of those balls hit him in the hands on the penultimate drive, and he just... dropped it. Crucial moment. Killer mistake.
Worse, the guy couldn’t create separation. Again. There are whispers (getting louder) that his route effort isn’t there, and you could see it on film. He looks like he’s mailing it in half the time.
Rome Odunze and even rookie Colston Loveland are starting to eat into Moore’s target share, and it’s not just game plan — it’s production-based. If you're the WR1 and can’t get looks in a blitz-heavy, man coverage game? That’s on you.
3. Kyle Monangai
Monangai got into the end zone, so on paper he had "a role." Reality? He was a liability. A brutal 1.9 YPC behind an offensive line that dominated the run game for the past month is unacceptable. Especially against a Vikings defense ranked 22nd against the run.
Take away his one-yard TD and one decent third-down conversion, and you’re looking at a back who got stuffed repeatedly. D'Andre Swift, by comparison, was a damn chainsaw — 90 yards on 21 carries. When the game was tight in the fourth, Swift was on the field. Monangai wasn’t. That’s not subtle.
I’m not worried about the kid long-term, but this wasn’t his best game. Let’s see what he does next week.
4. Rome Odunze
Odunze led the team in targets. So what? He caught two of them. He got air-mailed on a couple throws, but the bigger problem is how often he’s failing to separate or win at the catch point.
This was a Vikings secondary that's been torched by just about every WR1 post-bye, and Odunze barely registered. One target in the second half. That’s not a game plan issue — that’s a trust issue. Either Caleb didn’t like what he saw, or Odunze wasn’t doing enough to get open.
He’s flashed at times, but his production was all over the place. And I know Rome has been a dawg this year but this weekend we didn't see that. If the Bears are going to make a playoff push, they need more than just "potential" from Odunze. They need him to be a catching machine.
5. Richard Hightower
Forget Duvernay’s kick return magic for a second. The Bears’ coverage units were flat-out dangerous — to themselves. A 43-yard punt return by Myles Price flipped the field, led directly to a touchdown, and damn near flipped the result of this game.
Add in a dumb fair catch interference penalty and several breakdowns in lane discipline, and you’ve got a unit that cost the Bears real momentum and field position. In a dome. No wind. No excuses.
These aren’t just footnotes. These are fatal flaws against better teams. The Bears got away with it because Minnesota had a wet cardboard cutout at QB. Try this nonsense against the Lions, and it's a double-digit L.
This unit has struggled all season, no question. I've been skeptical of Hightower's impact for a while, but I'm open to being proven wrong. Let’s see if he can turn it around.
Final Verdict
Winning ugly is still winning. But let’s not act like this was a "we’ve arrived" moment. Caleb looked shook. DJ Moore's trending toward irrelevance. Monangai looked like a mirage. Odunze’s ceiling is hitting turbulence. And the coverage units nearly choked the whole damn thing away.
At 7-3, Chicago's in the driver’s seat. But the NFC doesn’t hand out playoff wins just for showing up. The Bears need to clean this up fast — or their postseason hopes could vanish with a tough schedule looming.
