Game balls in Bears' astonishing 19-17 win over Vikings in Week 11

At the rate they're going, the Chicago Bears will have aged their fanbase by a good decade or more by the time the season is over. The Bears secured another win on Sunday to improve to 7-3 and avenge their Week 1 loss by beating the Minnesota Vikings 19-17, with Cairo Santos booting the game-winning field goal as time expired.

I won't sugarcoat it: this was an ugly game for the Bears. From multiple Bears getting injured in a violent collision to once again surrendering a two-score lead in the fourth quarter, this game saw it all. But wins are wins, ugly or pretty. With that in mind, let's hand out some game balls.

1. Cairo Santos

Let's honor the hero of the day first. Santos finished the day four-for-five on field goal attempts and came up clutch when Chicago needed him most. Without his leg, the Bears get absolutely embarrassed in a 'gotta-have-it' game.

Cairo Santos wins it for the Bears! pic.twitter.com/SyHE0IEZDD
— NFL (@NFL) November 16, 2025

2. Devin Duvernay

Duvernay returned just one kickoff on Sunday, but it was the catalyst of Chicago's game-winning drive as he took it 56 yards up to Minnesota's 40-yard line. We'll never know what would have happened had this been a touchback. Perhaps Williams would have led another ice-in-his-veins drive, or maybe he would have sputtered and failed.

Maybe it's a good thing he didn't have that chance, given how poorly he played in this one, but that's a whole other conversation.

Huge return by @Dev_Duv5!

📺: FOX pic.twitter.com/gCe20RUm80
— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) November 16, 2025

3. Kevin Byard III

As part of my 5 bold predictions for the Bears vs Vikings in Week 11, I said that the Bears would intercept J.J. McCarthy at least twice, and that's exactly what they did. Furthermore, I predicted Byard would be the recipient of one such pick, and indeed he was. Byard is now the NFL's leader in interceptions with five on the season and no sign of slowing down.

5th INT of the season for KB ‼️

📺: FOX pic.twitter.com/ESYQ1r1yAC
— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) November 16, 2025

Honorable Mention: Cole Kmet

While his performance wasn't quite worthy of a game ball, I do want to give Kmet his flowers. He seemingly has been schemed out of Ben Johnson's offense for various reasons, but on Sunday he recorded a team-high 45 yards on five receptions and was one again fantastic in blocking the Vikings' hyperaggressive defense.