Who is to blame for the Vikings’ loss to the Bears in Week 4?

The defense

Wait a minute? How does the Vikings’ defense deserve any blame for the team’s loss to the Bears? Minnesota was able to hold Chicago to just 16 points and only four yards per play on Sunday. What more could the Vikings’ ask for from their defense?

Well, for starters, Minnesota’s defense could do better at preventing their opponents from scoring a touchdown on their first offensive drive of the game.

Before the Vikings’ offense even took the field on Sunday, their mindset became more urgent knowing they would have to overcome a seven-point deficit against a tough Chicago defense.

On paper, an opening drive touchdown doesn’t seem like that big of a deal. But for Minnesota, it is a big deal. The Vikings are not built to come from behind, so starting a game trailing by seven points is going to be harder for them to recover from compared to an offensive juggernaut like the Kansas City Chiefs.

Minnesota’s defense also wasn’t able to generate enough pressure against an ailing Bears offensive line on Sunday. The Vikings finished with just one sack and four quarterback hits against Chicago this week and that is unacceptable for a defense that heavily relies on their pass rush to create problems.

Minnesota did attempt to blitz the Bears a bunch of times on Sunday, but it didn’t lead to any significant results. As soon as Chase Daniel entered the game for Chicago, Mike Zimmer should have ramped up the pressure and forced the Bears backup to make bad decisions with Vikings defenders in his face.

But this isn’t what happened and Daniel was able to help Chicago get an important divisional win over Minnesota on Sunday.

Blame Percentage: 15 percent