Bears fumble away comeback bid, lose 29-22 to Vikings

MINNEAPOLIS — This was exactly the scenario in which the Bears need to see what Justin Fields can do.

He rallied them from a huge deficit against the Vikings only to see his defense falter late, putting the game in his hands with two minutes left and needing a touchdown.

However, the ball ended up in someone else’s hands.

As Fields pushed the Bears upfield in pursuit of a game-tying touchdown, he hit little-known wide receiver Ihmir Smith-Marsette for a long gain, but cornerback Cam Dantzler ripped the ball from him to secure a 29-22 win for the Vikings.

Fields had the Bears at their own 46-yard line with 1:12 left and hit Smith-Marsette for 15 yards. Rather than immediately duck out of bounds, Smith-Marsette tried to keep dodging and advancing, and that’s when Dantzler stripped him.

Fields started 2-for-6 passing and the Bears were down 21-3 in the second quarter, but he finished 15 of 21 for 208 yards and a touchdown for a career-high 118.8 passer rating. He also ran eight times for 47 yards and had a 53-yard touchdown run negated by Smith-Marsette’s flag for a block in the back.

The Bears took their first lead at 22-21 on Cairo Santos’ 51-yard field goal with 9:31 left in the game.

The Bears clamped down defensively in the second half, but crumbled at the end. The Vikings went on a 75-yard drive that drained seven minutes off the clock and took a 29-22 lead on Kirk Cousins’ quarterback sneak and ensuing two-point conversion pass to Justin Jefferson with 2:29 left.

All the corrections the Bears made after letting the Vikings roll through them in the first half were moot at that point. Cousins completed 6 of 8 passes for 57 yards on that drive, and Cook ran five times for 19 yards.

Cousins completed 32 of 41 passes for 296 yards with a touchdown and an interception, and Jefferson caught 12 passes for 154 yards.

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