Bears vs Vikings: Everything we learned in Chicago's eighth straight loss

The Chicago Bears (4-10) extended their losing streak to eight games once again in embarrassing fashion in the national spotlight. Taking on the Minnesota Vikings for the second time in four weeks, the Bears put up another horrible offensive performance, accompanied by a defensive effort that was practically non-existent in a 30-12 loss in Week 15 on Monday.

It was the same story as the rest of the regular season with the Bears not doing anything on the offensive side of the football for the entire first half against Minnesota. Their lack of production was the decision making by interim head coach Thomas Brown, who twice elected to go for it on fourth down situations in which he could've either kicked a field goal, or punted the ball away. On Chicago's first drive of the game, the Bears offense ran a pitch play on fourth-and-one, failing to convert, and giving Minnesota the ball inside Chicago's 40-yard line on their opening offensive possession.

A penalty by Doug Kramer on what should've been a touchdown run by D'Andre Swift was a sign of the times for Chicago as a team, only putting up their lone touchdown in garbage time with the game out of reach in the fourth quarter. Here's everything we learned following Chicago's eighth straight loss, pulling closer to the end of the season.

First half

There is not much to speak of that hasn't been mentioned already. Brown inexcusably went for it twice on fourth own, rather than punting or taking a field goal, and dug the Bears into a hole they were not able to get out of, but that shouldn't be shocking. Chicago is second to last in first half points, and they once again were held scoreless in the first half.

Taking advantage of the opportunities given to them by Brown and the Bears inept offense, the Vikings got 13 points in the first half, headlined by a 7-yard touchdown catch by superstar receiver Justin Jefferson. After he was held to just 27 yards in their first meeting, Jefferson led the way for Minnesota with seven catches for 73 yards and one touchdown.

Second half

If it feels like much of these recaps are similar to each other, it's because the Bears continue to put out the same repetitive efforts each and every losing week. The offense doesn't show up for the entire first half, questionable decisions by the head coach hang over the game, the defense is worn out, and Caleb Williams finds some type of production in the second half.

Aaron Jones once again scored a touchdown against the Bears, that is his 13th touchdown in 15 career games against Chicago as a member of the Green Bay Packers and Vikings. After throwing the ball 40 times in the game, Minnesota crushed the Bears defense on the ground in the second half with both Jones and backup running back Cam Akers also added a rushing touchdown, as they put up 114 yards on the ground.

One of the most interesting points of the second half didn't happen on the field, it came from the broadcast on Monday Night Football with Troy Aikman and Joe Buck. With the game out of hand, Aikman seemingly went to bat for general manager Ryan Poles amid a discussion on the future state of the franchise and their decision makers. Not only did Aikman defend Poles, he and Buck discussed how the focus for the Bears this offseason should be to bring in an offensive-minded head coach who can get the most of Williams.

Speaking of Williams, he took a huge shot in the third quarter and was caught on camera grimacing in pain, summing up not only the season for Williams, but the entire Bears organization, and fanbase. Grimacing, embarrassed, and overwhelmed with pain is the perfect way to not only sum up the Bears' performance on Monday night, but the entire season as well.

Keys to the game

Rookie left tackle was doomed from the start: Kiran Amegadjie was thrown into the fire after starting left tackle Braxton Jones reported concussion symptoms on Sunday morning and was ruled out for the Monday Night Football matchup. He was destroyed on a strip sack by Jonathan Greenard early in the game, had multiple penalties called on him, and looked absolutely beyond lost from the beginning.

Penalties: Even though the Vikings (10) had one more penalty than Chicago (9) in the game, the Bears penalty yardage was 93, and many of them just showed a sign of undisciplined football. The biggest one on offense was the previously mentioned failure to report penalty by lineman Doug Kramer, who lined up at fullback for D'Andre Swift touchdown run which was then nullified. On defense, Tyrique Stevenson, who was able to get an interception on a desperation heave by Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold, also gave up a 30-yard pass interference play, putting the ball on the goal line for Minnesota, who turned it into a touchdown.

Another failed first half: There are so many issues with this Bears team, but for the remainder of the season, fans shouldn't tune in until after halftime is over. Another zero on the scoreboard from the offense in the first half and coupled with questionable decisions by their interim head coach, nothing made sense, and everything felt doomed from the start for the Bears on Monday.

It was over when....

....Doug Kramer failed to report as eligible on a D'Andre Swift touchdown run in the third quarter. Trailing 13-0 to open the second half, the Bears had a chance to make it a one score game, but Kramer's mental lapse led to the Bears being pushed back away from the goal line and they had to settle for a field goal on the opening drive. There could've been hope starting the second half in making it a one score game after all the failures and questionable coaching decisions in the first half, but once again a player's mental lapse held the team back.

Duds of the game

*Kiran Amegadjie: Piling on a player doesn't ever feel good, especially as a rookie left tackle playing on the road in a rowdy environment like Minnesota has, but Amegadjie's poor performance has to be noted, and repeated. A third-round pick in the 2024 NFL draft for Chicago, and while he struggled with injuries early on, the already questioned depth and talent level on Chicago's offensive line, will now be questioned even further after Amegadjie looked incompetent throughout the game.

**Tyrique Stevenson: When facing a Minnesota Vikings team headlined by wide receivers Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison, with Sam Darnold playing as good as he has this year, the secondary should be on notice all 60 minutes of the game. Stevenson did get his first interception since a pick-6 in the opening week of the season, but his pass interference penalty late in the second half gave the Vikings another touchdown, and several times in the game he seemed out of place. Jaylon Johnson's abilities are not to be doubted at this stage of his career and this season, but there may be a serious need to address who plays opposite of him, because Stevenson has been highlighted for all the wrong reasons this year.

***Thomas Brown: Did the Bears organization get fooled twice in one season? After firing Matt Eberflus, who many thought could've been fired before the 2024 season to allow for a new head coach to pair with rookie Caleb Williams, Thomas Brown was named interim head coach and everyone, including the players in the locker room, spoke glowingly of him. Discussing a culture change inside Halas Hall is one thing, it may be the joyous of times even despite an eight-game losing streak, the players may love each other and respect Brown, but the repeated failures to bring their talent to the football field is past the level of embarrassment. Unfortunately, Brown is unlikely to even be in consideration for the head coaching vacancy in 2025.

What's next

The good news for Bears fans, players, and the organization is that there are only three games left in the regular season. The bad news is, they'll welcome a Detroit Lions team to Soldier Field, their second to last home game, next week and Detroit will come in hungry. After losing to the Buffalo Bills at Ford Field on Sunday, Detroit will have a chance to take out their frustrations on Chicago and yet it feels as if another ugly performance from this team is just days away for their Week 16 matchup.

This article originally appeared on Bears Wire: Bears vs Vikings: Everything we learned from an eighth straight loss