Chicago Bears vs. Minnesota Vikings: Live updates from U.S. Bank Stadium

MINNEAPOLIS – Justin Fields and the Bears will take on Josh Dobbs and the Minnesota Vikings on “Monday Night Football.” The game kicks off at 7:15 p.m. Monday from U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis.

Head coach Matt Eberflus and the Bears will look to rebound from last week’s fourth-quarter meltdown against the Detroit Lions. The Vikings are looking to win for the sixth time in their last seven games. The past three games have come with Dobbs at quarterback.

Shaw Local Bears beat writer Sean Hammond is in Minneapolis for Monday’s game. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, at @sean_hammond, on Instagram at @bears_reporter and on Threads at @bears_reporter. Shaw Local Bears analyst Marc Silverman will provide his thoughts on X at @WaddleandSilvy.

Below is everything Bears fans need to know ahead of the game. Stay here all game long for live updates.

Cairo Santos gives Bears the lead

Justin Fields led the Bears down field in the final minutes to set up a 30-yard field goal try for kicker Cairo Santos. Santos nailed the kick, giving the Bears a lead, 12-10, with 10 seconds remaining. It went down as a 66-yard scoring drive for the Bears.

The Bears held on for the win, improving to 4-8 on the season.

Vikings take lead on Hockenson’s touchdown

The Vikings drove 77 yards on eight plays to score the game’s first touchdown with 5:54 remaining in the fourth quarter. Tight end T.J. Hockenson caught a 17-yard touchdown grab from quarterback Josh Dobbs.

Despite throwing four interceptions in the game, Dobbs and the Vikings have rallied to take the lead.

The previous Bears possession ended when QB Justin Fields fumbled deep in Vikings territory. The Bears had been in field goal range.

On the Bears next possession, Justin Fields fumbled on third-and-10, giving the ball back over to the Bears.

TJ Edwards picks off Josh Dobbs on fourth down; Bears add field goal

For the second possession in a row, the Vikings were aggressive on fourth-down. Facing a fourth-and-3 at the Bears’ 44-yard line, they elected to keep the offense on the field and go for it.

Quarterback Josh Dobbs zipped a pass over the middle that was tipped high into the air. It landed in the hands of Bears linebacker TJ Edwards for an interception. It marked the third interception of the night for the Bears’ defense.

On the play prior, Edwards made a nice third-down tackle against running back Ty Chandler.

On the ensuing Bears possession, Cairo Santos made a 55-yard field goal try to extend the Bears’ lead, 9-3, early in the fourth quarter. The 55-yard field goal matched Santos’ career high from 2020.

Bears come up with 4th-down stop, make field goal

The Vikings picked up one first down and were moving toward midfield on the first possession after halftime. Minnesota elected to keep the offense on the field for fourth-and-7 from their own 49-yard line. Bears cornerback Kyler Gordon made a great tackle against Vikings tight end T.J. Hockenson to keep him from reaching the first down marker.

It went for a turnover on downs. The Bears took advantage, driving 34 yards the other direction and setting up a 39-yard field goal from kicker Cairo Santos.

The kick gave the Bears the lead, 6-3, with 6:59 to go in the third quarter.

Vikings move quickly, add field goal before halftime

With less than two minutes on the clock, the Vikings’ offense drove quickly down the length of the field. Josh Dobbs led the Vikings into the red zone before an intentional grounding penalty sent them backward. On third-and-24 at the 27-yard line, Dobbs threw a screen pass to running back Alexander Mattison for a short gain.

Vikings kicker Greg Joseph made a 34-yard field goal to pull Minnesota even with the Bears, 3-3, at halftime.

At halftime, Bears quarterback Justin Fields has 135 passing yards, while completing 17 of 22 attempts. Fields has also run for 21 yards on four carries. The Bears defense has two interceptions in the game, one from cornerback Jaylon Johnson and one from safety Jaquan Brisker.

Jaquan Brisker grabs interception

Bears safety Jaquan Brisker picked off a tipped pass over the middle from Minnesota quarterback Josh Dobbs. Vikings receiver Jordan Addison couldn’t haul in a pass that tipped off his hands. It was the second interception for the Bears defense and the fifth in the past six quarters of football. Brisker ran to the far end zone and did the Vikings’ Skol clap toward the Minnesota fans.

The interception gave the Bears the ball at their own 35-yard line.

Jaylon Johnson picks off Dobbs; Cody Whitehair replaces Teven Jenkins

Bears cornerback Jaylon Johnson, a week after coming close to a couple of interceptions against Detroit, picked off Minnesota quarterback Josh Dobbs in the second quarter.

When the Bears offense came onto the field, veteran lineman Cody Whitehair took the place of Teven Jenkins. Jenkins appeared to suffer an injury during a field goal a few plays earlier. Jenkins remains on the Bears’ sideline but does not have a helmet.

The Bears offense stalled out and was forced to punt.

Bears open up the scoring with a field goal

The Bears scored the first points of the game early in the second quarter on a 25-yard field goal from kicker Cairo Santos. They took the lead, 3-0, with 13:35 to go in the second quarter.

On the possession, the Bears somehow turned a second-and-27 situation into a first down. First, quarterback Justin Fields completed a 6-yard pass to tight end Cole Kmet. On second down, he found Roschon Johnson on a screen pass that went for 11 yards.

The Bears kept the offense on the field for fourth down and converted on a 24-yard pass, again to Kmet.

Lineman Teven Jenkins appeared to suffer an injury on the field goal try. He was down on the field for several minutes, then walked off under his own power but went right to the team’s medical tent.

Cairo Santos misses field goal on opening drive

The Bears converted on three third-downs on the opening drive of the game, but came away empty handed. On second down in Vikings territory, running back Roschon Johnson couldn’t pick up a blitzer and got beat. Vikings linebacker Ivan Pace sacked Justin Fields.

On third-and-long, Fields completed a dangerous pass to tight end Cole Kmet for a short gain that failed to pick up a first down. Kicker Cairo Santos missed a 48-yard field goal try.

The Vikings’ first offensive possession ended with a quick three-and-out. Josh Dobbs went deep for Jordan Addison on first down. Addison ended up with the football, but the refs ruled that it hit the ground. The home fans wanted the Vikings to challenge the call, but they didn’t.

On third down, Bears defensive end Montez Sweat came up with a sack to force a Vikings punt.

Bears announce inactive players

For the first time in several weeks, Bears receiver Velus Jones Jr. is active Monday night. Jones benefited from several other players dealing with injuries this week.

Inactive for the Bears is quarterback Nathan Peterman, safety Quindell Johnson, linebacker Noah Sewell, defensive end Dominique Robinson, running back D’Onta Foreman, cornerback Tyrique Stevenson and offensive tackle Larry Borom. Peterman will be the emergency third quarterback if both Justin Fields and Tyson Bagent are ruled out with injuries.

Is Justin Jefferson playing?

The Vikings haven’t ruled out star receiver Justin Jefferson, who has missed the last month with a hamstring injury. That said, ESPN’s Kevin Seifert is reporting that Jefferson is unlikely to play in this game.

Jefferson has returned to practice and is eligible to return to the active roster. The Vikings, however, have a bye week following Monday’s game against the Bears and will likely look to give Jefferson the extra time to heal.

That should be good news for the Bears. Even so, Dobbs and the Vikings have been able to score points without Jefferson. Look for rookie receiver Jordan Addison and top tight end T.J. Hockenson to play big roles in the passing game.

What’s the latest Bears injury news?

For the Bears, offensive tackle Larry Borom (illness), running back D’Onta Foreman (ankle/shin) and cornerback Tyrique Stevenson (ankle) have all been downgraded to out. Those three did not travel with the team to Minnesota and will not play Monday. Rookie linebacker Noah Sewell (knee) had already been ruled out.

Everybody else on the active roster should be good to go. The Bears don’t have any additional players who were listed as questionable over the weekend.

With Foreman out, running back Khalil Herbert will likely start the game for the Bears. Rookie Roschon Johnson could play a bigger role on Monday, too. The Bears also have running back Travis Homer on the roster.

Stevenson, a rookie second-round pick, was not on the Bears’ injury report until Saturday. With Stevenson out, look for rookie fifth-round pick Terell Smith to take on a bigger role Monday night.

What to expect from Minnesota

The Vikings were on a five-game winning streak before losing a one-point contest against the Denver Broncos last week. The Vikings traded for Dobbs at the trade deadline after starting QB Kirk Cousins tore his Achilles and was ruled out for the season.

Dobbs has been one of the best stories across the NFL this season. He has been traded twice, he played on short notice for both Arizona and Minnesota, and he played far better than anyone expected. He adds a running element that Cousins didn’t provide for the Vikings.

Here are five storylines to watch during Monday’s game. Eberflus is still looking for his first win against an NFC North opponent.

Silvy says the decision at head coach should be an easy one for the Bears. He believes Eberflus must go. Read his full column here.

Fields has six more games to prove himself as the quarterback of the future for the Bears. Can he start winning close games? How much does that matter to general manager Ryan Poles. We tackled that in our weekend feature. Read it here.

What else did I miss this week?

Here’s what else was happening at Halas Hall this week.

[ Where were Montez Sweat, Tremaine Edmunds on Chicago Bears’ final drive vs. Detroit Lions? ]

[ Bear Down, Nerd Up: Chicago Bears QB Justin Fields resumes his running ways ]

[ 3 things Chicago Bears head coach Matt Eberflus said Monday after loss to Lions ]

[ Five big takeaways from Chicago Bears’ epic collapse against Detroit Lions at Ford Field ]