These Chicago Bears players deserve game balls despite Week 6 loss to Vikings

The Chicago Bears fell to the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday, 19-13, in a game that can be summarized in one word: disappointing.

Head coach Matt Eberflus remains winless in the NFC North, and to make matters worse, quarterback Justin Fields left the game in the third quarter with a dislocated right thumb. We’ll learn more about the injury on Monday after Fields has an MRI.

If he misses an extended period of time, it could be the end of the Fields era in Chicago. He reverted to his usual bad habits of holding the ball too long, not seeing open receivers, and failing to read and diagnose the defense he was looking at before his injury. It’ll be hard to shake that vision if he isn’t healthy enough to have a bounce-back game this season.

Yes, the Chicago Bears coaches deserve a mammoth share of the blame, but the simple fact is that the flaws present in Justin Fields’ game three years ago are still there, and there are precious few signs of improvement.

Fortunately for Chicago, they may have a hidden gem as their backup quarterback, but we’ll get to that momentarily.

Despite the outcome, a few Bears still played well enough to deserve a game ball. Let’s try to stay positive and show some love to guys who deserve it.

Tyson Bagent

The undrafted quarterback from Division II’s Shepherd University made his NFL debut Sunday, and it went as well as you’d expect.

He made some poor throws and miscues, including a game-ending interception, but there was also a lot of promise in how he played. Bagent got the ball out quickly, hitting receivers on short routes before the blitz could get to him, and he moved the ball down the field better than the offense had done before he entered the game.

Bagent also scored the Bears’ only touchdown on the day, making a close game out of a matchup that had been otherwise uninteresting. A win would have been nice, but for proving he belongs on an NFL field, Bagent gets a game ball.

D’onta Foreman

The Chicago Bears running game appears to be in good hands, even with Khalil Herbert on injured reserve.

Veteran D’onta Foreman rushed for 65 yards on just 15 carries, often providing a spark for the offense and moving the chains. He nearly had a touchdown the play before Tyson Bagent scored, but he was brought down at the one-yard line.

He wasn’t much of a difference maker in the passing game, but at least Foreman kept the ground game going for the Bears, for that, he gets a game ball.

Chicago Bears Linebackers

General Manager Ryan Pole’s marquee additions in free agency, linebackers TJ Edwards and Tremaine Edmunds, have caught a lot of flak from Bears fans and writers this season, but they seem to be living up to their billing finally.

After excellent efforts against the Washington Commanders in Week 5, they helped hold the Vikings under 20 points.

Edwards almost recovered a fumble on an errant backward pass from Kirk Cousins, but the refs ruled that he was out of bounds as he gained possession of the football. It seemed like a clear error on the official’s part, as the ruling on the field had been a fumble recovery, and the replay didn’t show conclusive evidence that it was wrong. They overturned it anyway.

Later, Edmunds made a beautiful diving interception on an instinctual play following a tipped pass. It could have been a game-changing play, but in keeping with Chicago tradition, the offense couldn’t capitalize and failed to score.

Still, both linebackers deserved a game ball for their hustle on turnover-worthy plays on Sunday.

Honorable Mention: Cairo Smith, who remains perfect on field goal attempts this year.