Bears News: Moore and Kmet on “heartbreaking” and “unreal” loss to Vikings |
CHICAGO - A Hail Mary. A blocked field goal. An overtime loss after a successful onside kick. They are three of the ways Chicago has lost in their five-game losing streak.
For Chicago’s playmakers like tight end Cole Kmet, it was another heartbreaker. “I kept saying, ‘Just one time, please’ and we got it and then obviously, we didn’t do enough offensively there when we first got the ball and you never want to put it in their hands at the end of the game,” Kmet said. “So, just unfortunate but again, proud of the way the guys (fought) today and the (result is) the result and it hurts and we’ve had quite a bit of heartbreaking games now. I don’t think we’re a bad team by any means. It’s just unfortunate the way the three games I can think of have kind of gone.” Statistically speaking, Chicago’s overtime loss against the Minnesota Vikings was Kmet’s best game since week three against the Indianapolis Colts. Versus the Vikings, Kmet had seven receptions for 64 yards. It was his first game with over three receptions since the Bears’ last win back in October against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Part of that is because of the inconsistent play from rookie quarterback Caleb Williams. However, the challenge of facing Brian Flores’ blitz-heavy defense did not seem to phase him. “Caleb did a pretty good job for his first time going against Flores and that’s not an easy task as a rookie and sure there was some things that I’m sure he would say he’d want to clean up … All in all, to operate the way he did was pretty impressive and it was good to be able to do what we did,” Kmet said. “I thought in the screen game was really well with (wide receiver) DJ (Moore) and getting the ball out and Caleb knowing where the hots were in certain scenarios and trusting the plan. So, I thought all in all, it was really good. Thomas put a really good game plan together I thought and so, I thought all in all, it was a pretty good outing out there for the offense.” Part of why Williams is doing better is because of the change at offensive coordinator. When Thomas Brown took over after Shane Waldron was fired, the offense was immediately more effective. The Bears are getting their playmakers involved more, including an increase in Moore’s usage. Moore also had a statistically sound game against Minnesota. He had his second 100-yard game of the season and his first touchdown since his revenge game against the Carolina Panthers. Moore was critical in the final two minutes of the game. Not only did he catch the two-point conversion to make it a three-point game with 22 seconds left, he also caught a 27-yard reception from Williams to set up Chicago’s 48-yard field goal to send the game into overtime. “Once the ball (gets) in my hands, it’s go time. I just can’t have a negative play. I think they get the ball in my hands at the line of scrimmage because that’s probably the best thing to do for a positive play,” Moore said. “He threw a nice (ball) with some oomph behind it and I just had to catch it.” This is Moore’s second season with the Bears. Last year was not the year fans were hoping for. There was a lot of hope coming into this season after a change at quarterback, revamping the wide receiver group, and getting a new offensive coordinator. However, Chicago continues to suffer heartbreaking losses. Five of their seven losses this season have been by six points or less; their point differential on the season is plus four points. It is highly unusual for a team with a 4-7 record to have a positive point differential. “You definitely think something special’s about to happen, and when we got that and we went to overtime, you (were) like, ‘We (are) about to win this game’ and then they don’t come out that way and you (come) back here asking me why we’re losing again,” Moore said. “We losing in almost the most unreal situations … It’s like the most unironic ways to lose a game. We lose on a hail mary tip and then stuff like that, it’s like we just (weren’t) doing the right things to win at that point.” Chicago will try to end its five-game losing streak when it faces the Detroit Lions on Thanksgiving (11:30 a.m. / CBS). The last time the Bears faced the Lions on Thanksgiving was in 2021; the Bears won that game 16-14.
