5 Chicago Bears takeaways from Week 12 against the Vikings

The Chicago Bears’ win on Monday night came as a result of a team effort, including these two players.

4. Justin Fields offers evidence to both sides of his QB debate.

Monday night was not necessarily a game that Chicago Bears QB Justin Fields will want to remember. At least, until the final drive.

Through three quarters and most of another, Justin Fields was relegated to screen pass duty by You-Know-Who. For those who love to use air yards as a judgment of a quarterback’s play, the Chicago Bears were serving filet mignon.

Although it was clearly the gameplan, Fields was stuck throwing horizontally and as a result, his biggest naysayers had ammo to fire with come the end of the game if a loss was the result.

Worse yet for Justin Fields, he fumbled twice in the fourth quarter as he continued to further the narrative that he turns the ball over far too much in crucial situations. For many, it looked like a rerun of what we’ve been watching for nearly two seasons.

Then, something magical seemed to happen. For one of the first times in the career of Justin Fields, his defense had his back. They got the Vikings off the field quickly to give Fields another chance to lead this team to victory – and he did just that.

Despite a forgettable game and a terrible quarter thus far, Justin Fields took the field with a little over two minutes remaining and calmly led the Chicago Bears down the field to get in position for the game-winning field goal.

Although he was open, the throw to DJ Moore had to be a seismic release of weight off Fields’ shoulders. There is little doubt how acutely he is aware of all the criticism that is sent his way. Yet, he continually seems to remain unfazed.

If that game-winning drive doesn’t sit well with you after his previous two drives ended in a turnover, I completely understand.

With that being said, Fields did exactly what many said he couldn’t do – he led a game-winning drive when there was no time for anything else.

For those who discount his need to lead a drive like that after giving the defense a comfortable lead late in the game, you have to give the same energy when he puts himself in that same position.

Still, it’s safe to say that this game did nothing to sway the realm of public opinion on Justin Fields. What about in the realm of our General Manager’s opinion?

In all seriousness, we need to see the rest of this season play out when judging Justin Fields. Tune in next week to see what happens next! Luckily for Justin Fields as well as us, the red zone will continue to be money for the Chicago Bears.

5. At the risk of repeating myself, give it up for Cairo Santos.

I know I addressed this last week, but after he was literally the only person who scored points for the Chicago Bears in a victory, he bears mentioning once more (pun intended).

Just look at him. He’s living his best life for us.

Cairo Santos could’ve hung his head after he missed his first field goal attempt on the first drive of the game for the Chicago Bears. He could’ve psyched himself out.

Did Cairo Santos do that? Absolutely not. Instead, he proceeded to go 4-for-4 the rest of the evening while single-handedly winning the game for the Chicago Bears on the scoreboard.

As I mentioned previously, we all know what purgatory feels like when it comes to the kicking position given what we’ve been through since Robbie Gould’s departure. That makes games like the one against the Vikings in Week 12 that much sweeter.

I feel no anxiety when Santos takes the field, even after his early miss. That takes some serious work as a kicker, but Santos has done so. He has been a revelation, whether on the field or in the locker room. I want this guy on my football team any day.

Nobody deserves to ‘feel himself’ more than our kicker. Thank you for the win on Monday night, Cairo.

Keep this kind of work up and you’ll be on the shortlist when it comes to the best Chicago Bears kickers of all time!