TE Kyle Rudolph scores the Vikings lone touchdown in their loss to the Bears

A quick recap of the Vikings 28-10 loss to divisional foe, Chicago Bears

HOW THE GAME WAS LOST

Plain and simple, the game was lost with the turnover battle. The Vikings committed three turnovers (a fumble by Adrian Peterson, a fumble on an QB to RB exchange and a Christian Ponder interception).  Peterson’s fumble and Ponder’s interception both led to Chicago touchdowns.

TURNING POINT

The Vikings came out of halftime strong with an interception on the Bears first drive of the half by Antoine Winfield.  Winfield’s interception led to a two yard touchdown from Christian Ponder to Kyle Rudolph.  This cut the score 25-10.  On the Bears next drive, it seemed like Matt Forte fumbled with Mistral Raymond returning it 52 yards for a touchdown.  Initially, refs said it was confirmed.  However, moments later, they said the play was under review (LOL WUT).

Following the review, the call was over turned and Bears retained possession, while 6 points were taken off the board for the Vikings.

If the call had stand, the Vikings would have been down 7 points with a huge momentum shift towards the Vikings.  However, the Bears continued the drive and god a field goal to put them up 28-10.

THIRD DOWN KILLER

On offense, the Vikings only converted 37% (6-of-16) of the third downs, while on defense they allowed Chicago to convert 57% (11-of-19) of theirs.

Third down is a major area where both sides of the ball need to improve.  The offense needs to keep driving going, while the defense needs to get off the field.

YOU GET A DROP, YOU GET A DROP, YOU GET A DROP

A major problem in the Vikings offense today was drops by their wide receivers, especially Jerome Simpson.

According to Judd Zuglad, Simpson had three drops, while TE John Carlson added two more and WR Stephen Burton added another.

Following the game, Pro Football Weekly writer Eric Edholm tweeted Jerome Simpson admitted he “played terrible today”

Six drops by wide receivers in the NFL should not be happening.

STATS OF THE GAME

• QB Christian Ponder finished 22-of-43 with 159 yards and a touchdown and interception
• RB Adrian Peterson had 18 attempts for 108 yards and zero touchdowns.
• TE Kyle Rudolph lead the team in receiving with 5 receptions for 55 yards and a touchdown.  WR Jarius Wright, who earned his second career activation, had 7 receptions for 49 yards.
• K Blair Walsh finally missed a field goal when it was blocked by the Bears.  It was only Walsh’s second miss of his career (LOL — small sample size)

INJURY NOTES

Following the game, head coach Leslie Frazier said Kyle Rudolph and Harrison Smith were undergoing evaluations for concussion, with more information available tomorrow.

TWEETS OF THE GAME
(Play-by-play of is it a touchdown or isn’t it a touchdown, because LOL Real Refs)

And 1500ESPN’s Tom Pelissero sums up the events perfectly:

WHAT IT MEANS

The Vikings fall to 6-5, with a divisional record of 2-1.  The Vikings now sit two games out of first place in the NFC North.  However, the Vikings didn’t lose much ground in the wild card race with losses by Seattle and Tampa Bay.