The Chicago Bears walked out of Ford Field in high spirits on Thanksgiving. It’s not hard to see why. They’d just won three divisional games in a span of 12 days and had 10 days off before their next one. They are 8-3 and in full command of the NFC North. Not only that but their two biggest rivals, the Green Bay Packers and Minnesota Vikings, were set to do battle on Sunday night.
It didn’t really matter who won or lost because either way it would end up benefitting Chicago. If the Packers lost it would drop them to 4-6-1 on the season, all but eliminating them from contention for the division and put their playoff hopes on life support. If the Vikings lost, their chances to catch the Bears in the race would be all but insurmountable at 5-5-1.
In the end, the game couldn’t have gone much better from the Bears’ perspective as neither team could say they came out of that game looking strong.
Chicago Bears witnessed the end of the Aaron Rodgers-Mike McCarthy era
There was a time that people genuinely feared playing against the Packers. Aaron Rodgers was the best quarterback in football and head coach Mike McCarthy had him playing at championship levels. Green Bay was never out of a football game with those two together on a sideline. All good things come to an end though.
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The marriage between Rodgers and McCarthy, which started way back in 2006 when the latter became the head coach, seems to have finally reached a breaking point. There were signs that the two weren’t on the same page at times even before this year but they’ve only grown over the course of the season. Rodgers still doesn’t throw interceptions but his usual efficiency and big-play prowess have gone off-kilter.
Back-to-back bad throws by Rodgers. Don't usually see him miss these (especially the one to Adams) pic.twitter.com/Ubt1jUAhuf
— #FreePhillipDorsett (@ftbeard_17) November 26, 2018
McCarthy’s game management has also pulled a 180. He’s making mistakes with calls and decisions that a few years ago he never got wrong. All of this came to a head in Minnesota as a series of blunders by both of them led to a crippling 24-17 loss.
Even in victory, the Vikings suffered a grievous loss on defense
The Vikings got to enjoy putting Green Bay in that position, but make no mistake. Their celebration came with a bittersweet aftertaste. Over the course of the game, one of their best defenders had to leave the field with what looked like a serious injury. Pro Bowl cornerback Xavier Rhodes came up limping with what appeared to be a bad hamstring injury.
This video has me worried.
(thanks, had not seen this)
Based on the position of injury, worry for proximal hamstring avulsion injury. If true, it is one of the few hamstring injuries that require surgery. https://t.co/rVUgPijLlm— David J. Chao, MD (@ProFootballDoc) November 26, 2018
Rhodes has been targeted 47 times this season and allowed just 31 catches with one touchdown and one interception for an 85.5 passer rating. He’s easily the best, most consistent cover man in the Vikings secondary. Now it’s looking like he could be out for some time, if not the rest of the season.
The timing couldn’t be worse too. Minnesota is set to go on a lengthy road trip, first to New England to play the Patriots and then out west to Seattle against the Seahawks. This means they could be facing Tom Brady and Russell Wilson, two of the best quarterbacks in football, without their best cover corner.
If they lose the next two games, it could put the Bears in position to clinch the division before the season finale in Minnesota even becomes a factor. That’s about as ideal as it gets.
