The Chicago Bears suffocated the Minnesota Vikings run game, holding Dalvin Cook to just 35 yards and a score on 14 carries. With Cook stymied, the rest of the Vikings' offense slowly circled the drain for most of Sunday's 16-6 loss.
Sunday once again showed that when good defenses force Kirk Cousins to power the Vikings, the ship sinks.
Minnesota generated only 59 total yards of offense in the first half. The Vikings' first seven drives either ended in a punt or a lost fumble. The offense did not gain a first down from 8:00 left in the second quarter to 2:00 left in the third quarter (21-minute span). Cousins was 9-of-14 passing with 53 pass yards at 2:00 left in the third quarter. He finished with 233 yards passing after the Bears D went lax with a two-score lead.
The ineptitude for long stretches this season has led to frustration, especially with receivers Adam Thielen and Stefon Diggs, who were each visibly exasperated on the sideline Sunday.
"At some point, you're not going to be able to run the ball for 180 yards, even with the best running back in the NFL," Thielen said, via The Athletic. "That's when you have to be able to throw the ball. You have to be able to make plays. You have to be able to hit the deep balls. You have to do that."
Thielen caught just two passes for six yards on six targets. Cousins' only real deep shot of the game came on a first-half heave to Thielen, but the QB overthrew the receiver by several yards. A better toss would have gone for a TD and changed the entire complexion of the tilt.
Diggs ended the game with seven receptions and 108 yards, but five of those catches went for 91 yards late in the second half when the Vikings were already down and mostly out.
"I think we're just as frustrated as every fan in the state of Minnesota, every Minnesota Vikings fan," Thielen said. "We are more frustrated. We put everything we have into the offseason. We grind every single day, and then to put a performance like that -- it's so frustrating, it's unbelievable."
