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Bears safety Deon Bush (26) arrives too late to prevent Ravens wide receiver Sammy Watkins (14) from catching a 30-yard pass from Tyler Huntley that set up the winning touchdown Sunday at Soldier Field. | Jamie Sabau/Getty Images

After holding the Ravens to 238 yards and sacking Huntley five times in the first 58 minutes, the Bears’ defense withered again in crunch time — with egregious errors fueling the Ravens’ five-play, 72-yard touchdown drive in the final 1:33.

For more than three quarters, a short-handed Bears defense was doing the job you’re supposed to do against Tyler Huntley. And then, it all came apart.

“It’s sickening,” Bears linebacker Robert Quinn said after the Ravens drove 72 yards on five plays in the final 1:33 for a touchdown that beat the Bears 16-13 Sunday at Soldier Field. “It’s a punch to the gut. We had the lead. The Ravens had the ball. It was on our defense to close it out and we didn’t do it. Yeah, it’s a gut punch.”

On a third-and-12 play from the Bears’ 32-yard line and the Bears leading by three points with 33 seconds left in the fourth quarter, a miscommunication between safety Deon Bush and nickel back Marqui Christian left Sammy Watkins open for a 29-yard gain to the Bears’ 3-yard line. Running back Devonta Freeman scored on the next play

What happened?

“I’ll have to find out what kind of coverage breakdown there was,” coach Matt Nagy said. “They ran a couple of good chunks there with the DPI [a 21-yard pass interference call on Kindle Vildor] and that one there as well. I’ll have to look at that later.”

“I wasn’t covering on that play. I have no idea what the coverage was,” said Quinn, who was exceptional with 3 1/2 sacks, four quarterback hits and a forced fumble. “So I couldn’t tell you much about that.”

Answers were hard to come back after the latest collapse. The Bears did not make Vildor, Bush, Christian or any defensive backs available after the game. Nagy had to see the film, at least acknowledging the breakdowns. “Can’t happen. Can’t do it,” he said.

The evidence was on the field. As they positioned themselves near the line of scrimmage on the third-and-12 play, Bush and Christian seemed to get confused over who would cover Watkins and who would cover tight end Mark Andrews. They both went to Andrews, leaving Watkins free. Huntley rolled to his right, and with Quinn bearing down on him, threw to an open Watkins near the right sideline. Bush arrived only in time to knock Watkins out of bounds at the 3.

“I didn’t really see who it was. I just saw a guy wide open,” linebacker Alec Ogletree said. “Usually those kind of things happen with miscommunication and just not being detailed. A lot of games in this league are won or lost by you beating yourself.”

The Bears’ defense did that yet again in incriminating fashion Sunday. Until the final drive, they had held the Ravens to 238 yards and 3.4 yards per play. They had sacked Huntley — playing for Lamar Jackson, who was a late scratch because of an illness — five times. Earlier in the fourth quarter, safety Tashaun Gipson stopped a Ravens drive with a nifty interception at the Bears 14-yard line.

And after Andy Dalton’s stunning 49-yard touchdown pass to Marquise Goodwin gave the Bears a 13-9 lead with 1:41 left, it was time for the Bears defense to put the hammer down.

“Roquan [Smith] called us up right before we went out on that drive,” linebacker Travis Gipson said, “and he told us we had to finish the game.”

Instead, the Bears collapsed and let Tyler Huntley beat them. On first-and-10 from the 28 with 1:33 to go, Vildor’s pass interference infraction against Rashod Batemen went for 21 yards. Even a holding penalty against tackle Alejandro Villanueva that put the Ravens in the third-and-12 didn’t help the Bears. Somehow, when it came time to win or lose, they forgot to cover Sammy Watkins.

“It sucks,” Ogletree said. “Everyone wants to do the right thing and we all try to. But the great ones do it every single time. Especially in crunch time — that’s when you have to be your best. We just weren’t at our best at the end.”

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Justin Fields runs the ball during the Bears’ 16-13 loss to the Ravens on Sunday. | Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images

Bears quarterback Justin Fields is to blame for some of his struggles this season, including Sunday’s.

The Bears should have a quarterback controversy on their hands, though not the one you might think. Yes, backup Andy Dalton almost led the Bears to a victory against the Ravens on Sunday, but he’s not the answer, unless the question is, “Who is Mr. and Mrs. Dalton’s son?”

The real controversy should be over the widespread notion of Justin Fields as a superstar-in-waiting. Is he? What would lead a person to come to that conclusion?

When the rookie left with a rib injury in the third quarter Sunday, he had completed 4 of 11 passes for 79 yards and no touchdowns. His passer rating was 62.3. He had lost a fumble. Before Dalton took over in what would end up being a 16-13 Baltimore victory, the Bears had failed to score a point. It’s fair to say that Ravens quarterback Tyler Huntley, making his first NFL start (for an ill Lamar Jackson), looked much better than Fields did.

The truth is that Fields has had more games like Sunday’s than of the good variety.

There are all sorts of legitimate targets when handing out blame for the Bears’ 3-7 record. But it’s possible that all of the following is true at the same time: coach Matt Nagy can’t coach, general manager Ryan Pace can’t manage, even generally, and Fields isn’t what so many people think he is.

Somewhere along the way, it became a given that the kid had greatness written all over him. The Bears, of course, have pushed the idea hard since taking him with the 11th overall pick in this year’s draft. Now it’s standard practice for every network analyst to pass along that opinion as fact. Hard-core fans and casual onlookers alike accept it as gospel.

Thus it was no surprise that Nagy vigorously defended Fields on Sunday when a reporter asked him if it would be better for Dalton to play Thursday against Detroit and the young quarterback to take a break.

“Justin’s played his tail off, and he’s played really well,” Nagy said. “Justin’s done everything that we’ve asked him to do to be able to grow as a quarterback. He got hurt. He’s done everything to be the starter, to continue to be the starter. … We’ve just got to see where Justin’s at. When you’re talking about ribs, you’ve got to find out how much it affects him.”

The numbers don’t come close to backing Nagy’s contention that Fields has “played really well” this season. He came into Sunday’s game with four touchdown passes, eight interceptions and a passer rating of 69.4. He has run well when given the opportunity. But when he fumbled in the second quarter Sunday, it was his ninth of the year and the third he has lost. If all of that is what Nagy considers excellent play, then I’m ready to join the PGA Tour.

The rush to crown Fields is one of life’s great mysteries. He had a career-high 291 passing yards in a loss to the Steelers last week. With the amount of praise shoved his way afterward, you would have thought he had thrown for 500 yards against the 1972 Dolphins.

What we saw Sunday wasn’t a regression. He has played this way for much of the season. He has played like many rookie quarterbacks have played before him. And that’s OK. He has one of the most difficult jobs in sports. It’s way too early to say that this might be who he is, but maybe it’s time to table the talk that, if it weren’t for all he has going against him (Nagy, the offensive line, etc.), he’d be well down the road to stardom.

The Bears failed Fields on Sunday by again not calling more play action and screen passes. Anyone making the case for Nagy to remain in his position past this season either hasn’t been watching the games or has been overserved. There’s a good chance that the lasting image of Nagy will come from the Ravens game, when his headset cut out. He was irate and had to blow a timeout. A coach untethered.

But Nagy wasn’t responsible for the play on which Fields was likely injured. On a third-and-11, his quarterback didn’t see a wide-open David Montgomery and instead chose to run. See? There’s enough blame to go around for what Fields has gone through this season. Lots of people have played a role in the Bears’ five-game losing streak.

That’s not the story his many supporters want to hear. They prefer the tale of a talented quarterback who is the victim of the bad decisions of a dolt of a head coach. Some of that is true. But the other, unpopular, less-publicized story is of a young kid whose rookie struggles are his own.

Why is that one banned?

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A person was fatally shot Nov. 21, 2021, in Roseland. | Sun-times file

The teen was shot multiple times in the 200 block of West 110th Place, officials said.

A 16-year-old boy was fatally shot Sunday evening in Roseland on the Far South Side.

Just after 5 p.m., the teen was shot multiple times in the 200 block of West 110th Place, according to Chicago police and Chicago fire officials.

He was pronounced dead at the scene, police said.

No one was in custody.

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Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh has never beaten Ohio State. | Julio Cortez/AP

The Buckeyes have won the last eight matchups and 15 of the last 16. The Wolverines are looking for their first ever appearance in the Big Ten title game. Michigan hasn’t won the conference since 2004.

COLUMBUS, Ohio — This year’s version of The Game could hardly be bigger.

The annual clash between Ohio State and Michigan, held this year on the Saturday after Thanksgiving, is already juiced by a century of tradition, mutual hatred and fanaticism.

A lot more than bragging rights are at stake this year in Ann Arbor for the No. 2 Buckeyes and No. 6 Wolverines.

The winner clinches the Big Ten East and advances to the conference championship game Dec. 4 — and stays alive for the College Football Playoff.

The loser picks up a second loss and will consider the season ruined.

“We’ve just been preparing for that team all winter, all summer,” Ohio State senior defensive end Tyreke Smith said. “Got that game always on our minds.”

For the 24th time, The Game will be a top-10 matchup.

The Buckeyes (10-1, 8-0 Big Ten, No. 4 CFP) have dominated the series of late, winning the last eight matchups and 15 of the last 16.

Ohio State also has won the last four Big Ten championship games. The Wolverines (10-1, 7-1, No. 6 CFP) are looking for their first ever appearance in the Big Ten title game, which was first played 11 years ago. Michigan hasn’t won the conference since 2004.

A glaring subplot in all this is that Jim Harbaugh has never beaten Ohio State in five tries as the Michigan coach, a continuous source of frustration among Wolverines fans and gleeful schadenfreude in Columbus.

This may be Harbaugh’s best team and best chance yet. The Michigan defense is among the top 10 in the FBS and might have a chance to slow down the Buckeyes and the nation’s most prolific offense (560 yards, 47.2 points per game).

Redshirt freshman quarterback C.J. Stroud was 32 of 35 for 432 yards and school record-tying six touchdowns — all in the first half — in last Saturday’s 56-7 rout of Michigan State, a week after he threw for five TDs in a blowout of Purdue.

The Ohio State defense had one of its best games of the season, neutralizing Michigan State’s Heisman hopeful running back Kenneth Walker III, who gained just 26 yards.

The Buckeyes’ loss to Oregon in Week 2 is a distant memory.

“The chemistry has been built on the field,” Ohio State defensive tackle Haskell Garrett said. “Each week we’ve gotten better.”

Michigan also enters the game on a high note. Cade McNamara threw for two touchdowns and Hassan Haskins ran for two in the Wolverines’ 59-18 win over Maryland last Saturday.

“We’re a confident team. We know what we’re capable of,” McNamara said. “We’re fired up and we’re ready. This is the week.”

The only blemish on the Michigan record is a 37-33 loss to Michigan State on Oct. 30.

“Everything that was planned, built for, all the energy that was put in since way back in early 2021 — January, February — all the things that the guys have done, the coaches have done, has put us in this position,” Harbaugh said. “That’s the position we wanted to be in, and we want to finish it.”

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Bears coach Matt Nagy cheers Sunday. | Nam Y. Huh/AP

The soundtrack at rock bottom Sunday sounded like this: a cacophony of fans, loud enough for their words to rattle throughout Soldier Field, chanting for Bears coach Matt Nagy to be fired.

The soundtrack at rock bottom Sunday sounded like this: a cacophony of fans, loud enough for their words to rattle throughout Soldier Field, chanting for Bears coach Matt Nagy to be fired.

A chorus of “Fiiiiii-re Na-ggggy” rang out at the most important moment of the Bears’ 16-13 loss to the Ravens — fourth-and-6 from the Ravens’ 44 with 1:48 to play and the Bears down by two. It grew louder after Nagy took a timeout and 39-year-old Bears left tackle Jason Peters, who has played more football than anyone on the field, rewarded him with a false start.

The chants were drowned out by elation when backup Andy Dalton did the impossible on the next play, lofting a 49-yard touchdown pass to Marquise Goodwin to take the lead. But they returned 89 seconds later, after the Bears defense allowed the Ravens’ own backup quarterback, Tyler Huntley — making his first start because former NFL MVP Lamar Jackson was inactive due to an illness — to march 72 yards in five plays for the game-winning touchdown.

The Bears’ fifth loss in a row was their most heartbreaking because of who started at quarterback for the Ravens — and who finished at the position for the Bears.

Afterward, Nagy was asked if he heard the chorus — and the boos that accompanied the Bears to the locker room at halftime, down 6-0.

“I just understand that in the end we all care a lot and we’re all in this thing,” he said. “And of course we want to do everything we can to win. That’s our job to do that. And I think everyone is competitive and wants to see the Bears win — and that’s exactly what we want.”

They’re not winning. The 3-7 Bears’ last victory came six weeks ago — and counting. They’re the No. 15 seed in a 16-team NFC — with only Thursday’s opponent, the winless Lions, behind them.

They’re likely to play that game without Nagy’s last remaining life raft. Rookie quarterback Justin Fields — whose right shoulder carries the weight of the franchise — left Sunday’s game in the third quarter with a ribs injury. Nagy pled ignorance about Fields’ status, but it seems unlikely the Bears would rush him back for a meaningless Thanksgiving game when he has 10 days to rest on the other side.

The best argument Nagy could make for returning in 2022 is for Fields to improve steadily in the second half. Any game the rookie misses robs him the opportunity to make that case. Not that Fields built on momentum from the Steelers game Sunday: before leaving after the first drive of the third quarter, Fields went 4-for-11 for 79 yards and a passer rating of 62.3. He was sacked twice, losing a fumble in the second quarter that led to a Ravens field goal.

The rookie wasn’t alone in his sloppiness. On their first drive, the Bears called a toss to running back David Montgomery on third-and-5 at the Ravens’ 16 — and lost six. Cairo Santos then shanked a 40-yard field goal. The Bears made a second special teams mistake in the fourth quarter, when the Ravens partially blocked a punt and eventually kicked a field goal.

The Bears, though, never looked so discombobulated as they did when Nagy called three timeouts in the fourth quarter.

On third-and-1 with about 12:30 left, Dalton took a deep shot to Darnell Mooney in man coverage. The receiver couldn’t get two feet in bounds, leaving the Bears with fourth-and-1 at the 49. Nagy ran the punt team out, then called a timeout, then went for it — and failed.

Nagy blamed his headset, which briefly stopped working. Because he couldn’t communicate with offensive coordinator Bill Lazor in the coaches’ booth, he turned to special teams coordinator Chirs Tabor next to him and told him to punt. Nagy claimed his headset began working again, so he called timeout and decided to go for it.

Dalton had a baseball cap on, seemingly thinking the Bears were punting, before hustling back onto the field.

“Next thing you know the offense is on the field,” Dalton said, “which is fine.”

No it’s not.

The Bears called a direct snap to Montgomery, who was stuffed well short of the sticks.

“If you get it, it looks good,” Nagy said. “If you don’t get it, it looks bad.”

Nagy burned his second timeout on fourth-and-6 — before Peters’ false start — though he said later he’d “love to be able to keep it” to use on defense had they fallen short.

He blew the third one after Goodwin’s touchdown that put them up four. Anyone who’s played a minute of “Madden” knows to go for two — being up six keeps a tie in play if the opponent scores and misses the extra point. Nagy said the Bears were confused, though — “We’re at a point where you have the celebrations, you have the guys going back and forth,” he said — and sent out the field goal unit. After the timeout, they went for two and threw an incomplete pass.

The timeout would have come in handy when the Bears’ defense was caught flat-footed a few minutes later. For the second-straight game, the Bears defense was staked to a lead in the final two minutes and couldn’t hold it. On third-and-12 from the Bears’ 32, the Ravens caught the Bears in a blown coverage, completed a pass for 29 yards and scored the next play.

That’s when the chants for Nagy’s job grew the loudest.

“You keep fighting, you keep believing in each other,” Nagy said. “And you keep it real simple. You never stop fighting. That’s all you can do.”

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Community activists speak out against the Chicago Police Department’s “gang database” during a press conference at City Hall in April 2019. | Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times file

The City Council has voted to give people the right to challenge their name being listed in the error-ridden gang database. That’s just the first step, and it’s overdue.

Consider the case of a West Side man who hoped to become a Cook County sheriff’s deputy. But when he submitted his application, he was shocked to discover his name appeared in the Chicago Police Department’s gang database.

Consider, as well, the minister from the South Side who learned his name was in the database after he was pulled over by police — and found out he was identified as a gang leader and considered armed and dangerous.

“That wasn’t my story,” he said, theorizing that his advocacy work may have led to his inclusion in the much-maligned database.

Or perhaps he was added because of where he lived. In certain neighborhoods, organizers for Black Youth 100 have claimed, police automatically entered the names of everyone they pulled over.

We’re dismayed to hear these stories, as anyone who cares about fairness ought to be. Sadly, we’re not surprised: The Chicago Police Department’s error-ridden database — formally known as the Criminal Enterprise Information System — has been under fire for years.

The clock is ticking loudly — and has been — to get this right.

We continue to believe that a database of gang members can be a legitimate crime-fighting tool against the gang violence that is a scourge on our city.

But sensible reforms, such as those recommended by the MacArthur Justice Center at Northwestern University, have been far too long in materializing.

The City Council last week finally took a much-needed step toward full reform, authorizing the Chicago Police Board to hear appeals from people who want their names removed from the list. Finally, Chicagoans who have been wrongly included will have the right to have their names deleted and get on with their lives, whether it’s getting a job, volunteering at their child’s school or being able to rent a place to live.

But City Council critics made a good point: Why have an appeals process to get off a list, when there’s no clear, publicly-available criteria as yet to determine whose name gets added?

“This is backwards. And the fact that we’re gonna fix it later is just bunk,” as Ald. Leslie Hairston (5th Ward) said.

Sensible and necessary reforms

Before departing his post, now-former Inspector General Joe Ferguson told alderpersons at his final budget hearing the city continues to use an inaccurate system that “hangs over the lives of tens of thousands of Chicagoans, over 96% are Black- and Brown-skinned. We need to clean that up.”

A 2019 audit by Ferguson’s office concluded the database was a “deeply flawed collection of gang data, with poor quality controls and inadequate protections for procedural rights.”

Justice reformers estimate thousands of people are wrongly listed, through no fault of their own. Groups such as Beyond Legal Aid, Black Youth 100, Organized Communities Against Deportations and Mijente want officials to abolish the database altogether. The MacArthur Justice Center estimates the database contains nearly 200,000 names dating back decades.

In a federal lawsuit it filed on behalf of four young men — three Black and one Latino — who said their names were wrongly added to the database, the center asked for these sensible reforms, which we support:

o Set clear criteria for adding names to the database.

o Notify people whose names have been added.

o Offer a hearing to anybody who wants to challenge their name’s inclusion.

o Prohibit the police from sharing the list with any third party.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot is promising the right things: that CPD has “completely changed the criteria” needed to get on the list to include “many, many identifiers of the person,” and that to get on the list, every name has to be approved by an “exempt member” of the department — “not just a line police officer.”

Lightfoot also promised outreach to those who names are in the database, so they are aware of their right to appeal.

All of which is good to hear. A formal apology to those who were denied jobs or otherwise harmed because they were wrongly included would also go a long way toward rebuilding trust in CPD.

Send letters to [email protected].

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Justin Bieber attends the Met Gala in New York in September. | Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images

The fiancee of Jamal Khashoggi, a critic of the kingdom who was killed by Saudi agents, says the pop star needs to declare he ‘will not be used to restore the reputation’ of its leadership.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Pop star Justin Bieber is facing growing calls to cancel his concert in Saudi Arabia next month as the fiancee of slain Saudi critic Jamal Khashoggi joined a chorus of voices on Sunday urging him not to perform at the kingdom’s Formula One race.

In an open letter published by The Washington Post, Hatice Cengiz urged the Canadian megastar to cancel his Dec. 5 performance in the Red Sea city of Jiddah to “send a powerful message to the world that your name and talent will not be used to restore the reputation of a regime that kills its critics.”

Bieber’s concert is the most headline-grabbing performance scheduled for the race in Jiddah, though other F1 concert performers include rapper A$AP Rocky, DJs David Guetta and Tiesto and singer Jason Derulo.

It is not the first time a pop star has faced pressure to pull out of a concert in Saudi Arabia. Mariah Carey was the biggest-name performer to hit the stage in Saudi Arabia after Khashoggi’s killing by Saudi agents in Turkey in October 2018. She brushed off calls to boycott the show.

Public pressure, however, prompted Nicki Minaj in 2019 to cancel her appearance on stage at a concert in Jiddah. She said at the time she wanted to show support for women’s rights, gay rights and freedom of expression.

Khashoggi’s stunning killing in 2018 was carried out by members of a team of 15 Saudi government agents who’d been sent to Istanbul, where the writer and former government spokesman had an appointment at the Saudi consulate for documents needed to marry Cengiz. She waited for him outside the consulate, but he never walked out. His body was never found.

The killing by agents who worked for the crown prince drew international gasps and cast a shadow over Prince Mohammed, whose reputation never fully recovered. Prince Mohammed has maintained he had no prior knowledge of the operation that killed Khashoggi. A U.S. intelligence assessment made public under President Joe Biden, however, determined the crown prince approved the operation.

“Please know that your invitation to participate in a concert in Jiddah comes directly from MBS, as the crown prince is known,” Cengiz wrote in her open letter to Bieber. “Nothing of significance happens in Saudi Arabia without his consent, and certainly not an event as important and flashy as this.”

Bieber’s concert in Saudi Arabia comes shortly before he opens a world tour in February that was rescheduled from 2020 due to the pandemic.

In the time since, Saudi Arabia’s state-owned sovereign wealth fund — steered by Prince Mohammed — scooped up shares in Live Nation, the company that owns Ticketmaster and promotes concerts for Bieber and other major stars. As Live Nation’s shares plummeted last year during COVID-19 lockdowns and the cancellation of thousands of shows, the Public Investment Fund bought $500 million worth of shares in the battered company.

Public filings show the Saudi wealth fund is now the second largest institutional holder in Live Nation, with a stake worth some $1.4 billion.

Human Rights Watch has also called on Bieber and the other performers to pull out of the F1 concerts in Saudi Arabia, saying these events are aimed at “sportwashing” by diverting attention and deflecting scrutiny from Saudi Arabia’s human rights record.

Saudi youth are the main attendees of these concerts, enjoying the country’s newfound social changes that allow for music and gender mixing. The kingdom’s General Sports Authority argues that sports is a tool for social change within the kingdom.

Next month’s F1 race will be the first time Saudi Arabia hosts the premier sporting event, though the kingdom has hosted the lesser known Formula-E race in past years in an effort to raise the country’s profile as a tourist destination.

At the time of Khashoggi’s killing, the crown prince was being lauded for ushering in social reforms transforming life for many inside the country. Khashoggi had been writing columns for The Washington Post criticizing the crown prince’s brash foreign policy moves and simultaneous crackdown on activists and perceived critics, including women’s rights activists, writers, clerics and economists.

Saudi Arabia held a trial for some of those involved in his killing, sentencing five to death before sparing them of execution.

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Minnesota Vikings kicker Greg Joseph, center, celebrates with teammates after kicking a 29-yard field goal on the final play of Sunday’s game against the Green Bay Packers. | Bruce Kluckhohn/AP

Kirk Cousins passed for 341 yards and three touchdowns for Minnesota, who watched yet another game come down to the final play after Aaron Rodgers threw three of his four touchdown passes in the second half.

MINNEAPOLIS — Greg Joseph made a 29-yard field goal as time expired to give the Minnesota Vikings a 34-31 victory over the Green Bay Packers on Sunday, finishing a classic back-and-forth with Aaron Rodgers by making sure the three-time NFL MVP didn’t get to touch the ball last.

Kirk Cousins passed for 341 yards and three touchdowns for the Vikings (5-5), who watched yet another game come down to the final play after Rodgers threw three of his four touchdown passes in the second half.

Unable to practice much at all this week because of a toe injury, after missing much of the first half of the month with COVID-19, Rodgers finished 23 for 33 for a season-high 385 yards.

Justin Jefferson had eight receptions for 169 yards and two scores, including a third-down catch against rookie Eric Stokes that Cousins delivered for a 23-yard touchdown while being decked on a blitz by Darnell Savage. Dalvin Cook ran in the 2-point conversion to make up for an earlier missed extra point by Joseph.

Then on the next play from scrimmage, Rodgers threw a rainbow to Marquez Valdes-Scantling streaking past safety Xavier Woods for a 75-yard score to tie the game just before the two-minute warning.

When the Vikings regained the ball, Cousins nearly cost himself the comeback by slightly underthrowing Jefferson, whom Savage darted in front of to intercept the ball. He bobbled it on the way down, though, and a replay review overturned the call.

Cousins then went 3 for 3 for 51 yards on the next three snaps, Cook ran for one more first down, and then the Vikings kneeled down to set up the final kick by Joseph. They posted the highest score against the Packers since their 38-3 loss to New Orleans in the season opener.

Green Bay (8-3) gave up just 34 points over the previous three games. Preston Smith had two sacks, but the Packers didn’t have the same pass rush with outside linebacker Rashan Gary (elbow) sidelined. Za’Darius Smith and Whitney Mercilus are also out with long-term injuries.

DANGEROUS DUO

Rodgers threw to Davante Adams twice for touchdowns, including an 18-yard strike on third-and-6 midway through the fourth quarter when he was trying to call timeout before the shotgun snap.

Adams has 12 scoring receptions against the Vikings, the most by any opposing player.

STRONG START

The Vikings lost their way on offense in recent losses to Dallas and Baltimore by failing to consistently deliver the ball to Jefferson and Thielen, but Cousins picked up where he left off in last week’s win over the Los Angeles Chargers by continuing to target his star tandem.

Jefferson became the first player in the league this season to top 100 receiving yards in the first quarter. He drew a 37-yard pass interference penalty on Savage in the second quarter, a big boost on a drive that ended with a 10-yard touchdown pass from Cousins to Thielen on third-and-goal for a 16-3 lead. Kingsley Keke’s helmet-to-helmet hit on Cousins triggered a roughing-the-passer penalty and erased an interception by Savage on that eventful possession.

For all the success that was fueled by aggressiveness, the Vikings swung the momentum to the visitors when a toss sweep to fullback C.J. Ham on third-and-1 at their 29 was stopped for no gain late in the second quarter.

The Packers went the other way for the first of four straight touchdown drives, excluding a one-play kneel-down at the end of the first half, that covered 74 yards or more. Josiah Deguara had his first career scoring catch to cap that possession and cut the lead to 16-10.

INJURY REPORT

Packers: Elgton Jenkins went down in the fourth quarter with an apparent injury to his left knee and was carted to the locker room. After a Pro Bowl selection in 2020 at LG, Jenkins has replaced David Bakhtiari at LT this season. Bakhtiari has yet to return from a torn ACL suffered last year.

Vikings: CB Patrick Peterson (hamstring) returned from a three-game absence. He missed some time while getting treatment on the sideline late in the second quarter but returned after halftime.

UP NEXT

The Packers host the Los Angeles Rams next Sunday, trying to avoid consecutive losses for the first time since a three-game skid that prompted the firing of coach Mike McCarthy on Dec. 2, 2018.

The Vikings play at San Francisco next Sunday.

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Browns cornerback Denzel Ward (21) intercepts a pass intended for Lions wide receiver Josh Reynolds on Sunday. | Ron Schwane/AP

Nick Chubb caught a touchdown pass and ran for 130 yards as Cleveland held on to avoid a season-wrecking upset.

CLEVELAND — Nick Chubb caught a touchdown pass and ran for 130 yards as the Cleveland Browns held on to avoid a season-wrecking upset and keep Detroit winless with a sloppy 13-10 victory over the Lions on Sunday.

Chubb returned to Cleveland’s lineup after a one-game absence due to COVID-19. The star running back caught a 5-yard TD pass from Baker Mayfield and then helped the Browns (6-5) run out the clock.

With Cleveland’s crowd chanting his name before every snap, Chubb gained 36 yards on the final drive as the Browns chewed up the last 2:29.

Wide receiver Jarvis Landry ran for a score as the Browns barely bounced back after being blown out by 38 points last week at New England.

The Lions (0-9-1) couldn’t build off any momentum from their 16-16 tie a week ago in Pittsburgh and made some critical mistakes while growing their winless streak to 14 games. They are the league’s only winless team.

Detroit’s D’Andre Swift ran for a career-high 136 yards, breaking off a 57-yard TD run in the second half to keep the Lions close. Kicker Aldrick Rosas made a 43-yard field goal in the fourth quarter to pull the Lions within 13-10. However Detroit couldn’t come up with one more big play to put more pressure on the Browns.

The Lions played without starting quarterback Jared Goff, who injured his oblique against the Steelers. Tim Boyle finished 15 of 23 for 77 yards with two interceptions in his first NFL start.

Mayfield was limited in practice this week with shoulder, foot and knee injuries. He threw a first-half interception and had other issues in wet conditions before connecting with Chubb late in the second quarter.

Landry’s 16-yard scoring run came on a gadget formation to open the second quarter. The Browns were determined to get Landry more touches, and the sure-handed receiver moved behind center with Mayfield shifting right. Landry took the snap and rolled left looking to throw back to his right.

With nobody open, Landry tucked the ball and sprinted up the middle for his second rushing TD this season.

The Browns took a two-TD lead late in the half with help from the Lions, who committed three penalties — two by cornerback Amani Oruwariye — on a 76-yard scoring drive capped by Chubb’s TD.

Boyle came in with just four career pass attempts. Goff didn’t practice this week and his status remains uncertain for Thursday’s Thanksgiving game against the Bears.

KICKING CRISIS

The Lions had intended to use kicker Riley Patterson, signed earlier this week off New England’s practice squad. However, he was inactive and Rosas, a Pro Bowler in 2018 with the New York Giants, made his field goal and an extra point.

Earlier this week, Detroit released Ryan Santoso, who missed two kicks, including a potential winner against the Steelers. The Lions have been juggling kickers since training camp. Regular kicker Austin Siebert is on injured reserve with a hip issue.

INJURIES

Lions: Starting G Halapoulivaati Vaitai went out with a concussion in the second quarter. … Da’Shawn Hand (groin) got hurt in the third quarter. … Center Evan Brown left for several plays with an unspecified injury.

Browns: Landry appeared to aggravate the left knee injury that landed him on injured reserve. … LB Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah went out in the second half with a leg injury that went unannounced by the team.

UP NEXT

Lions: host Chicago in their traditional Turkey Day game.

Browns: visit Baltimore on Sunday night for the first of two games in three weeks against the AFC North-leading Ravens who beat the Bears on Sunday.

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Justin Houston celebrates for the Ravens on Sunday. | Jamie Sabau/Getty Images

The team’s fifth-straight loss came in remarkably painful fashion.

The Bears found a new rock bottom Sunday.

The team’s fifth-straight loss came in remarkably painful fashion. Their 16-13 defeat at Soldier Field came against a Ravens team without former MVP Lamar Jackson, who did not play because of an illness. It came without Justin Fields, too. The rookie quarterback who contains whatever promise the franchise might have in his right shoulder went to the locker room after hurting his ribs in the third quarter.

That left Andy Dalton, seemingly, to do the impossible. On fourth-and-11 inside the two-minute mark, the veteran lofted a 49-yard touchdown pass to receiver Marquise Goodwin to give the Bears, who had trailed the whole game, a four-point lead.

It wouldn’t last. For the second-straight game, the Bears gave their defense a lead in the game’s final minute, and watched them lose it. Tyler Huntley, making his first career start, marched the Ravens 72 yards in only five plays, handing the ball off to Devonta Freeman for a three-yard touchdown with 22 seconds to play.

As both teams lined up for an ensuing kickoff, the home fans began chanting “Fire Nagy!”

Chairman George McCaskey said in January he was looking for “progress” when evaluating coach Matt Nagy and general manager Ryan Pace this season. Sunday was a step back.

The Bears entered the game with the better quarterback, but Fields didn’t look like it. And now he’s hurt with a game against the hapless, winless Lions on national television only four days away.

Fields struggled before he was hurt on the first drive of the third quarter, completing 4-of-11 passes for 79 yards. It was a blow to Bears fans hoping Fields had taken the next step in teh fourth quarter of the Steelers game, when the Bears scored three touchdowns — two on offense — on their way to a narrow defeat.

There was other blame to go around, too:

The Bears were shut out in the first half in part because kicker Cairo Santos missed a 40-yard field wide left to end the team’s first drive. Santos had missed only one kick all year: a 65-yard prayer as time expired in Pittsburgh.
Nagy made one of the most mind-numbing in-game decisions of his tenure. With two-and-a-half minutes left in the game, Nagy ran the punt team out on fourth-and-1 at his own 49, took a timeout and changed his mind. He ran a Wildcat direct snap to David Montgomery, who was stopped short, giving the Ravens’ young quarterback — and the best kicker in the NFL — a short field.
Tashaun Gipson thwarted that scoring drive with an interception, only for the Ravens to partially block Pat O’Donnell’s punt and eventually kick the go-ahead field goal with 3:41 to play.

The Bears fell to 3-7, the worst mark in the NFC among all teams except the Lions. Fields’ improvement is the fastest way for the franchise to improve — and it’s unclear when he’ll play again.

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