Alshon Jeffery had few answers Sunday. Still digesting the Bears’ 38-17 loss to the Vikings, Jeffery was asked what the offense had been missing on a day when it had as many turnovers (two) as touchdown drives.
“You tell me what was missing,” he said.
Jeffery was asked whether he had noticed anything in the week leading up to the game that indicated a flat effort might be coming.
“Can you predict the future?” he asked. “We just go out and play football. Things like that happen.”
Most important, the Bears’ top receiver was asked about the severity of a hamstring injury he suffered late in the first half that kept him off the field for all but one snap over the final five possessions. Jeffery said his hamstring tightened on him but wasn’t a major issue.
“I was back out there, wasn’t I?” Jeffery said.
Jeffery hauled in a 10-yard touchdown catch not long before halftime, a score that brought the Bears within 17-7. But that was his only grab on five targets during a frustrating day. Another injury setback added to the agitation.
“They kicked our ass today,” Jeffery concluded.
Waste management: The Bears’ offense squandered big special teams plays to start each half. Kick returner Deonte Thompson brought the opening kickoff to midfield with a 49-yard burst, his second-longest return this year. But the Bears quickly malfunctioned with a holding call on center Hroniss Grasu and a Tom Johnson sack on Jay Cutler contributing to a three-and-out series.
Cornerback Sherrick McManis recovered a surprise onside kick to open the second half. But the Bears coughed up that opportunity too, with Cutler sacked and stripped by Brian Robison three plays later.
Making the leap: Teddy Bridgewater’s four touchdown passes were a career high, part of a 17-for-20, 231-yard performance that also gave him a career-best rating of 154.4. Bridgewater added a 12-yard scoring scramble on which he jumped from the 3-yard line on top of Tracy Porter and into the end zone to give the Vikings a 31-10 lead.
“It’s just having that competitive nature in you,” Bridgewater said. “I think that’s what drove me to leave my feet right there.”
Bridgewater also recalled coach Mike Zimmer’s stated goal of scoring 30 points.
“I wanted to make sure we got those 30 points for Coach Zim,” Bridgewater said.
Extra points: Robbie Gould made his lone field-goal attempt, a 51-yarder in the third quarter, snapping his streak of three consecutive misses. … The Bears were minus-2 in turnover ratio. Fourteen games into the season, the defense has created only 11 takeaways. With seven interceptions, the team is in danger of finishing the season with fewer than 10 picks for the first time since 2002.