![\"Chicago](\"https:\/\/news2.watchtowatch.top\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/GettyImages-2226510660-1.jpg\")
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The\u00a0Chicago Bears\u00a0and\u00a0Minnesota Vikings\u00a0had a\u00a0high-profile NFC North game\u00a0on\u00a0Sunday, November 16, on the road, and it proved that first-year Bears head coach Ben Johnson is already getting his team to where they need to be to succeed in the league. The Bears took out the Vikings,\u00a0with a 19-17 score, and even though\u00a0Minnesota had a late rally, it wasn\u2019t enough to overtake a strong Bears team.<\/p>\n
The Minnesota Vikings still lead the series since its start, according to\u00a0research from the Football Database, but all that matters now is that for the 2025-26 season, the Bears are on top. But, it wasn\u2019t easy.<\/p>\n
The\u00a0Chicago Bears led 16-3 heading into the fourth quarter, but the Minnesota Vikings pulled off two late touchdowns, the second thanks to\u00a0 J.J. McCarthy\u2019s 15-yard pass to\u00a0Jordan Addison, giving the Vikings a 17-16 lead with just :50 left on the clock. But,\u00a0Cairo Santos\u00a0kicked a 48-yard field goal as the time went down to zero to give the Bears a\u00a0riveting 19-17 win\u00a0over the Vikings.<\/p>\n
As great as it was to win against a challenger in the NFC North, that wasn\u2019t the end of this fairytale story. The Bears woke up to some good news on Monday, November 17, and it\u2019s surely putting a smile on Johnson\u2019s face.<\/p>\n
Even though the Bears won this game, during his postgame presser, Johnson emphasized that it got too close and that the team will learn from their mistakes. \u201cIt was very reminiscent of the first game where we ended up having a lead and then allowed it to get interesting there,\u201d Johnson said. \u201cWe felt like we didn\u2019t make enough plays there in the first game to earn that victory, and this one we did. I do feel like that shows growth as a football team.\u201d<\/p>\n
But, whether or not Johnson was 100% happy with his team\u2019s performance, he\u2019s smiling now, because following the\u00a0Detroit Lions\u2018 loss to the\u00a0Philadelphia Eagles\u00a0on Sunday, November 16, the Bears are No. 1 team in the\u00a0NFC North. The Bears\u2019 win gave them with a\u00a07-3 record\u00a0for the season, while the\u00a0Green Bay Packers\u00a0are No. 2 with a 6-3-1 record and the Detroit Lions are No. 3 at 6-4. The Vikings are last.<\/p>\n
Even with the loss, Minnesota Vikings head coach Kevin O\u2019Connell was complimentary after the game.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou can feel it in the building. You can feel the momentum. That\u2019s a great way to describe it when J.J. throws the touchdown to Jordan in the 2-minute drill,\u201d\u00a0Vikings Head Coach Kevin O\u2019Connell said. \u201cAs I told [McCarthy] earlier in the game, no matter what this game has been like, I\u2019m going to tell you at the end of this, \u2018Just move the ball down the field to help us win this game. And I\u2019m proud of you.’\u201d<\/p>\n
He added, \u201cAnd I told him that the result didn\u2019t end up staying 17-16, and they beat us by making the play there and then making the kick.\u201d<\/p>\n
Now, the Chicago Bears get to play a home game, and it\u2019s against the\u00a0Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday, November 23. The Steelers have a 6-4 record going into the game, while the Bears are 7-3.<\/p>\n
Christian Izien\u2019s absence from last week\u2019s season opener at Atlanta is expected to end this week, with the Buccaneers defensive back set to return for Monday night\u2019s showdown at Houston.<\/p>\n
When asked about potentially deploying both cornerback Jacob Parrish and safety Izien simultaneously, Todd Bowles\u00a0indicated\u00a0it\u2019s a possibility. Notably, Izien\u2019s experience extends beyond his listed safety position, as he\u2019s also played slot corner.<\/p>\n
\u201cDepending on the defense,\u201d\u00a0Bowles on potentially using Izien and Parrish at the same time. \u201cParrish is a nickel right now, but \u2018Izzy\u2019 will have some spots coming in as we go forward. We have to see what the game plans look like.\u201d<\/p>\n
With Izien\u2019s return, the Buccaneers boast considerable depth in their secondary will enable Bowles to unleash creative blitz packages and unique coverages to counter C.J. Stroud. Given their previous encounter, however, it\u2019s clear the Bucs\u2019 defensive backs will need every advantage possible to keep up with the Houston QB.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The\u00a0Chicago Bears\u00a0and\u00a0Minnesota Vikings\u00a0had a\u00a0high-profile NFC North game\u00a0on\u00a0Sunday, November 16, on the road, and it proved that first-year Bears head coach Ben Johnson is already getting his team to where they need to…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":13554,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13555","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-hot-news"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t