Bears Aiming to End Miserable Division Drought Against Vikings on MNF
When Ryan Poles and Matt Eberflus were introduced as the new general manager and head coach, respectively, of the Chicago Bears in January 2022, the pair described their plan to turn the franchise into a contender and "take the [NFC] North and never give it back."
However nearly two years later, the Bears certainly don't own the division. Not even close.
Chicago is 6-22 in the Eberflus-Poles era, a record that includes a 0-9 mark against NFC North opponents over the last two seasons. Overall, the Bears are on a 12-game divisional losing streak that dates back to November of the 2021 season. The franchise's next opportunity to end its yearslong divisional drought comes in a Week 12 Monday Night Football (MNF) matchup against the Minnesota Vikings.
"It's a massive game," Bears linebacker T.J. Edwards told reporters ahead of the game. "We're going to find out who we are this week."
Head coach Matt Eberflus of the Chicago Bears is seen at Caesars Superdome on November 5 in New Orleans. Eberflus is still seeking his first divisional win as Chicago's head coach. Wesley Hitt//Chicago is 0-3 against divisional foes this season heading into the game. And each loss was painful in its own way for fans in the Windy City. After an offseason filled with optimism, the Bears were brought back to reality with a 38-20 home loss to their rival Green Bay Packers in the season-opener. Then, in this season's first meeting with the Vikings, Bears quarterback Justin Fields suffered a hand injury that would eventually keep him out for a month.
Rookie Tyson Bagent relieved Fields in that game for his first NFL action. The undrafted backup ran for a touchdown in the fourth quarter to spark a comeback, but a late Bagent interception—one of three Bears turnovers on the day—sealed a 19-13 Vikings win.
"I felt like we made too many mental mistakes last time we played them," Fields told reporters. "We're better than that. We're better than what we put on tape that game."
The Bears are fresh off of what may have been the most painful loss in a season full of them.
Chicago took a 12-point lead with 4:15 to play in the fourth quarter against the Detroit Lions in Week 11. ESPN analytics gave the Bears a 98.2 percent probability of winning. Meanwhile, the Lions scored two touchdowns and added a safety for good measure in the final three minutes of the game to win, 31-26.
Eberflus' team fell to 1-4 in one-score games this season with the loss. And the only win came against the worst team in the NFL—the 1-10 Carolina Panthers—who fired head coach Frank Reich on Monday.
Minnesota (6-5) hosts Chicago (3-8) at 8:15 p.m. ET on Monday. The game will air on ABC and ESPN. The Vikings' last meeting with the Bears sparked a five-game winning streak, which just came to an end with a 21-20 loss to the Denver Broncos last weekend. But the Joshua Dobbs-led team can bounce back and improve to 3-0 in the North with a win in primetime.
As for the Bears, blowing a late lead against the Lions may still sting, but the focus is on putting together a complete game this time around—and finally beating a team in the division in the process.
"The mentality is where you start," Eberflus said ahead of the game. "That's where your foundational floor is. It's the execution piece of it after that: What are we going to do? How are we going to do it? And how can we execute fast and correctly? That's exactly where our mindset is; the mentality to finish, to make the good calls on offense and defense and also for the guys to execute and the playmakers to step up and make those plays."
