Inside The Vikings

Bears beat Vikings with last-second kick on nightmare day for McCarthy

Cairo Santos' 48-yard field goal as time expired gave Chicago a huge road win and may have killed the Vikings' playoff hopes.
Will Ragatz|
Nov 16, 2025; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy (9) throws downfield during the second quarter against the Chicago Bears at U.S. Bank Stadium.
Nov 16, 2025; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy (9) throws downfield during the second quarter against the Chicago Bears at U.S. Bank Stadium. | Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images

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Cairo Santos' 48-yard field goal stayed inside the left upright as time expired, giving the Bears a dramatic 19-17 victory over the Vikings at U.S. Bank Stadium on Sunday. On a day where their young quarterback struggled immensely, the Vikings may have seen their playoff hopes die.

Stunningly, Jordan Addison's 15-yard touchdown reception gave the Vikings a 17-16 lead with 50 seconds on the clock. After J.J. McCarthy and the offense had played so poorly all day, five consecutive completions gave them their first lead since the opening quarter. All they needed was one stop.

They couldn't get it. Devin Duvernay returned the ensuing kick 56 yards, setting the Bears up in field goal range. And after a few runs inched them closer, Santos sent Vikings fans home upset.

It was simply a brutal day for McCarthy. He completed 16 of 32 passes for 150 yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions, giving him eight picks in his first five career starts. He was wildly inaccurate once again and remains winless at home. It was a performance that's inevitably going to lead to some serious speculation and discussions over whether he has what it takes to be the guy in Minnesota.

It didn't help McCarthy that when he did make accurate throws, his targets dropped at least five or six catchable passes. The combination of quarterback inaccuracy and drops led to a passing game that couldn't get anything going until the one late drive.

Give credit to Brian Flores' defense for keeping the Vikings in the game. They battled against Caleb Williams and the Bears all day and played well enough for Minnesota to win. But the Vikings couldn't create any takeaways, which meant they lost the turnover battle 2-0.

At 4-6, the Vikings are all but doomed in the postseason hunt. The rest of this season will be about evaluating if McCarthy can show enough improvement to keep the starting job in 2026.

Game rewind

The day was an ugly one for McCarthy from the get-go. The Vikings won the toss and elected to receive, hoping to play with a lead after a successful scripted drive. But after converting a couple first downs, McCarthy had two rough misses. First he bounced an intermediate throw to the left to an open Addison. Then, on third down, he sailed one over Justin Jefferson's head. That led to a punt.

On the ensuing possession, McCarthy made perhaps his best throw of the day, but Addison couldn't haul it in for what would've been a huge play. The Vikings punted again. After another three-and-out for the Bears, the Vikings finally moved the ball a bit on offense, but ultimately had to settle for a short field goal to go up 3-0.

In the second quarter, the Bears found their a rhythm on offense. They mounted a 15-play, 74-yard touchdown drive that took over eight minutes off the clock and included three third-down conversions. That touchdown left the Vikings chasing the game for most of the day.

From there, McCarthy's day worsened. He threw a pick to Kevin Byard on the very next possession, which set up a Bears field goal. He threw another pick on the ensuing drive, this one to ex-Viking Nahshon Wright in the end zone. At the half, it was a 10-3 game.

The Bears tacked on another field goal early in the third quarter. Then, after another McCarthy pass sailed over Jefferson, the Bears added a third field goal to make it 16-3. The Vikings finally got something going on offense early in the fourth quarter, but it took a big Myles Price punt return, followed by two Jordan Mason runs, including a 16-yard touchdown.

Thanks to the Bears letting them hang around, the Vikings had their chances. And in the final minutes, when they had to have it, they delivered.

But when the offense plays that poorly all day, the margin for error is eliminated. And the Bears' special teams ended up making two big plays to win the game.

Next up for the Vikings is a trip to Lambeau Field.

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Will Ragatz
WILL RAGATZ

Will Ragatz is a senior writer for Vikings On SI, who also covers the Twins, Timberwolves, Gophers, and other Minnesota teams. He is a credentialed Minnesota Vikings beat reporter, covering the team extensively at practices, games and throughout the NFL draft and free agency period. Ragatz attended Northwestern University, where he studied at the prestigious Medill School of Journalism. During his time as a student, he covered Northwestern Wildcats football and basketball for SB Nation’s Inside NU, eventually serving as co-editor-in-chief in his junior year. In the fall of 2018, Will interned in Sports Illustrated’s newsroom in New York City, where he wrote articles on Major League Baseball, college football, and college basketball for SI.com.

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