Minnesota Vikings #14 Stefon Diggs

Minnesota Vikings #14 Stefon Diggs
Jay Cutler returned Monday night to the usual cacophony of national television scrutiny, while Jeremy Langford quietly took his place behind the Bears’ new starting running back.

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But someone else made their way back to Soldier Field in the Bears’ 20-10 upset of the Vikings, and on an appropriate night: Monsters.

The Bears played dress-up on Halloween, wearing their “Monsters of the Midway” uniforms, and then did their best impression of a feared defense, allowing a season-low 258 yards.

Until Sam Bradford found Stefon Diggs for a 25-yard score with 5:41 remaining and behind by 17 points, the Bears were on the verge of snapping the NFL’s longest active streak allowing a touchdown: 66-straight games.

“We just played a great team and we dominated them,” said outside linebacker Pernell McPhee, who recorded his first sack of the season and was credited with four quarterback hurries. “So it’s gotta piss everybody off and say, ‘We shouldn’t lose no more games to teams that we ain’t got no business losing to.’”

The Bears did plenty of that during their 2-6 start. But Monday night gave the defense — and the team — a rare sign of progress entering into their bye.

Against an offensive line called out by their coach last week — Mike Zimmer called the Vikings “soft” after allowing six sacks to the Eagles — the Bears recorded five sacks, tying a season high, and nine quarterback hurries.

“That came out rearing, ready to hit,” said defensive end Akiem Hicks, who had two sacks. “We anticipated that, and I think we countered that effectively.”

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Before the fourth-quarter touchdown, the closest the Vikings came to the end zone was third-and-goal at the Bears’ 2 in the final minute of the first half. Hicks sacked Bradford to force a 30-yard Blair Walsh field goal.

That drive was only alive because defensive end Cornelius Washington left the sideline to celebrate McPhee’s third-down sack. The Bears had forced four punts up that point, including three-straight three-and-out possessions in which the Vikings totaled six yards.

Two Connor Barth Field goals and Jordan Howard’s two-yard touchdown run gave the Bears a 13-3 lead at halftime, and Alshon Jeffery’s first score of the season, an 11-yarder five minutes into the third quarter, increased the Bears’ advantage to 20-3.

Cutler went 20-for-31 for 252 yards after missing five-straight games with sprained right thumb ligaments. Howard was a revelation after two subpar games, running 26 times for 153 yards.

But the defense set the tone. That it was against an inconsistent offense — without running back Jerick McKinnon— is worth noting, though the Bears let other flawed offenses thrive in recent weeks. The Packers, without a functioning running back, hung 26 on them. Arrelious Benn’s 51-yard touchdown that beat the Bears the week before was the Jaguars’ longest play of the season — before or since. Needing a touchdown to win the game, the Colts marched 82 yards for one without so much as a third down in the game’s final minutes.

After allowing five fourth-quarter touchdowns during their three-game losing streak, the Bears defense closed out the game Monday night.

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“That’s what changed for today,” Hicks said. “We played the entire game rather than a half, rather than 45 minutes.”

Minnesota Vikings #28 Adrian Peterson

Minnesota Vikings #28 Adrian Peterson
EDEN PRAIRIE, Minnesota -- Mike Zimmer prepared for decades to be an NFL coach. So when that time came, in January 2014, Zimmer knew exactly what he wanted to do.

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He would use his considerable expertise to rebuild the Minnesota Vikings' defense, then hire experienced coaches to handle the rest of the team. Norv Turner, a head coach for 15 years and an NFL coordinator for eight others, was his choice for the offense.

For most of his 2½ years with the coordinator, Zimmer gave Turner almost complete autonomy. The arrangement sounded ideal and respectful, but ultimately it was a mistake -- one that was born of good intentions, but in the end was responsible for Turner's stunning resignation midway through a 5-2 season.

Zimmer has always said he's had a hand in the team's offensive approach, but the truth came out Wednesday in the raw emotion of Turner's decision.

"I would say that since Norv has been here, I've given him almost 100 percent, total free will in everything that they've done offensively," Zimmer said. "Obviously I'd come in and make suggestions, but there really has never been a time when I have demanded anything from there."

I'm sure Zimmer takes some professional pride in that approach, especially as a longtime assistant himself. Who wouldn't want a boss who stays out of the way? But it rendered him powerless to execute one of the basic jobs of a head coach: to "coach" the assistants.


Mike Zimmer hired Norv Turner as his offensive coordinator in 2014. Kamil Krzaczynski/USA TODAY Sports
Turner is one of the most accomplished coordinators of this generation, and in this case, he was hired to be the head coach of the Vikings' offense. This is never an ideal approach, regardless of the mutual admiration and achievements of the respective parties.

When something goes wrong and a schematic adjustment needs to be made, it's the job of the head coach to step in and make sure it gets done. It's not always pleasant. It could encounter resistance and might be inferred as disrespect, but it's an important part of the checks and balance of leadership, and it was something Zimmer has largely avoided addressing in a direct way through the ups and downs of the Vikings' offense during his tenure.

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His lone attempt was shaking up Turner's staff after the 2015 season. When the music stopped, the Vikings suddenly had two former head coaches -- tight ends coach Pat Shurmur and offensive line coach Tony Sparano -- nipping at Turner's heels. Even those changes were passive aggressive. Zimmer hoped to effect change through the ideas and influence of others.

All it did was lead Turner to believe that he was being disempowered. Close observers of the offense noticed that it increasingly included concepts that Shurmur and quarterback Sam Bradford had used when they were with the Philadelphia Eagles and St. Louis Rams. On Wednesday, Turner told ESPN's Ed Werder that he and Zimmer "have different views of where the offense was going."

Anyone watching this season knows that the biggest reason for the Vikings' offensive struggles is injuries. There isn't a team in the NFL that could skip seamlessly through the loss of its starting quarterback, running back and both tackles. But there are always schematic adjustments that can be made to minimize personnel deficiencies, and it doesn't take a genius to understand that Turner didn't agree with the suggestions he was hearing from inside the coaches' room.

I don't blame him. Norv Turner has been coaching his way for a long time. And for the most part, it has worked. Zimmer hired him to do his thing in Minnesota, and Zimmer essentially recused himself from having a substantive role in the direction of the offense.

With Zimmer unable or unwilling to insert himself directly in times of crisis, to guide Turner effectively through adjustments that could be made, this arrangement was doomed from the start.


I don't think Zimmer will make the same mistake again. I asked him Wednesday if he would preside differently over the offense after promoting Shurmur into the coordinator's role. He paused, took some time to consider the answer, and said, "I always had really good dialogue with Norv. So I think I'll continue to have good dialogue with those guys. We'll just have to see where things go."

Shurmur has a tough job ahead of him. He must find a way to score points without an NFL-caliber feature back and with an offensive line that has been getting smoked on a weekly basis.

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Zimmer's job will be tougher, however. Amid a two-game losing streak, he'll need to assert himself once and for all as the coach of the Vikings' offense, defense and special teams. You can pick whatever cliché you want, but I'll go with this: The ship can't go down with someone other than the captain at the

Kansas City Chiefs #87 Travis Kelce

Kansas City Chiefs #87 Travis Kelce
INDIANAPOLIS -- Dee Ford had to wait until Sunday’s game against the Indianapolis Colts was over to say so. But he felt a performance like the one he and his fellow pass-rushers had in the Kansas City Chiefs’ 30-14 victory building during the week.

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“I understood Andrew Luck is going to try to make plays down the field so he is going to hold the ball,’’ said Ford, who had a career-high 3.5 sacks while the Chiefs had a season-high six. “You have to keep rushing him. That’s with any quarterback. But he is not like a Drew Brees (who) gets it out very (quickly).

“So it was imperative that we kept rushing.’’

The Chiefs did keep rushing and displayed a potent pass rush for the first time this season. They had just eight sacks in their first six games.

Perhaps it’s premature to believe that the pass rush is back for good. Luck has been sacked plenty this season. He’s gone down a league-high 31 times.

But the Chiefs have reason to believe that for their rush, the best is yet to come. Ford has seven sacks, putting him in position to challenge for the league title. Buffalo’s Lorenzo Alexander leads with nine, but his team has played one more game than the Chiefs.

Justin Houston, their sack leader in each of the past four seasons, could play as soon as next week. He's been out since having surgery on his balky ACL in February.

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His return should make Ford an even more potent threat.

“He’s not done yet,’’ said linebacker Tamba Hali, one of three other Chiefs players to get at least a half-sack of Luck. “We’re going to try to get him as many as he can possibly get because he’s very, very talented.

“When you have that ability, you’re going to be in the right places. You’ve just got to make plays and he’s doing it.’’KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Tough break for rookie cornerback D.J. White, who was rebounding well from his horrible game early this month against Ben Roethlisberger and the Pittsburgh Steelers.

White, who had been playing a lot as the third cornerback, has a broken hand and will be out for Sunday’s game against the Colts in Indianapolis and perhaps beyond.

It’s also a tough break for the Chiefs, who aren’t deep at cornerback and face quarterback Andrew Luck on Sunday. Starting cornerback Phillip Gaines returned to practice on Wednesday after missing most or all of the last three games because of a sore knee and he could play against the Colts.

If Gaines can’t play on Sunday, the Chiefs will have to dig deep into their reserves and go with either Kenneth Acker or Terrance Mitchell as their third cornerback. Neither has played much.

Regardless of who’s in the lineup on Sunday as the second or third cornerback, he’s probably going to see more than his share of action. Drew Brees of the New Orleans Saints avoided throwing much against No. 1 cornerback Marcus Peters last Sunday and that could be the start of a trend. Peters leads the NFL with five interceptions.

“That’s a respect thing for Marcus," coach Andy Reid said. “The other guys have to know they’re going to get some action. That’s OK. We’ve got good players there."

White was getting plenty of passes thrown his way but was responding better since the Pittsburgh game.

“He has to understand that it’s not because he’s a young guy," Reid said. “It’s because the guy on the opposite side has a gazillion interceptions. Teams are probably leaning away from (Peters), which makes them throw towards D.J.’s side."

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Peters didn’t get an interception off Brees but he did recover a fumble. The Chiefs did get an interception, though -- a pick-6 by Daniel Sorensen.

Kansas City Chiefs #25 Jamaal Charles

Kansas City Chiefs #25 Jamaal Charles

ATLANTA -- Matt Ryan insists the Atlanta Falcons were mentally tougher than they were last season.

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The veteran quarterback went out and showed it Sunday.

Ryan completed 9 of 11 passes for 75 yards on a game-winning drive that ended with his 11-yard touchdown pass to Mohamed Sanu down the seam. Sanu was mismatched against linebacker Jake Ryan. It marked Matt Ryan's 34th career game-winning drive in the fourth quarter or overtime, giving the Falcons a 33-32 win over the Green Bay Packers.

"They don't call the guy `Matty Ice' for no reason," Sanu said of his quarterback. "The guy's got ice in his veins. He just goes out there and just executes, man."

The Falcons sorely needed this one after losing the previous two weeks to the Seattle Seahawks (26-24) and San Diego Chargers (33-30 in overtime). Now at 5-3 and leading the NFC South, they have a little momentum going into a crucial division matchup with the Buccaneers (3-4) Thursday night in Tampa.

After the San Diego loss, Falcons coach Dan Quinn showed his team a tape of boxer Marvin Hagler winning a championship bout after losing the first matchup by decision. The point of the clip was to emphasize not letting someone else decide the outcome for you.

Ryan obviously took the message to heart. He threw a pass the perfect height to Sanu with Julio Jones drawing double coverage, as usual

"When you feel his demeanor on the sideline, when there's a timeout and he comes over and he has that locked-in look in his eyes, he's ready to go," Quinn said of Ryan's demeanor. "His teammates respond to him because of his toughness and his attitude that he display for them all the time.

"These guys are a very tight group. They just love playing football for one another. It shows in the locker room and it shows on the practice field."

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Ryan, touted as the MVP frontrunner after guiding the Falcons to a four-game winning streak, finished Sunday's completing 28 of 35 passes for 288 yards with three touchdowns and a passer rating for 129.5. He did all that with the league's most dangerous threat, Jones, catching just three passes for 29 yards, all in the first half. Sanu, one of the team's big offseason acquisitions, picked up the slack with nine catches (10 targets) for 84 yards. The Falcons will need Sanu to continue to play that way to alleviate some of the pressure off Jones the remainder of the season.

"That's what he's brought to this team: He's a big body and excellent in the red zone," Ryan said of Sanu. "I thought he did a great job all day."

The defensive issues the Falcons had against Aaron Rodgers and a depleted Packers offense -- they surrendered five plays of 20-plus yards despite an inspired, two-sack performance by Adrian Clayborn and another sack for Vic Beasley Jr. -- emphasized how Atlanta has to win with its offense. Ryan said prior to the season the Falcons have the ability to average 30 points per game. Right now, the Falcons are averaging 32.8. They'll need to keep up that pace to close out the second half of the schedule and make the playoffs for the first time since 2012.

More than anything, the Falcons have to show poise in tight situations. The poise Ryan showed set an example for his teammates.

"For me, the longer I've played, the more I understand that you never know how a game is going to shake out," Ryan said. "Getting up or down or out of your normal concentration doesn't help, so I try to remain that way all the time -- very calm and focused on getting that next completion, getting the next first down.

"The message I give to the guys before we go out is in that situation, don't worry about the touchdown play. Let's get the first down and get the sticks moving. I thought we did a great job of that."

The quick turnaround to a Thursday game against a Buccaneers team the Falcons already lost to in the season opener (31-24) won't make things any easier, especially with it coming on the road. The Falcons then play at Philadelphia before a much-needed bye week that is followed by home matchups with Kansas City (5-2) and Arizona (3-4).

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Let's see if the Falcons have finally figured out how to finish. They sure did Sunday.

Jacksonville Jaguars #15 Allen Robinson

Jacksonville Jaguars #15 Allen Robinson
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Jacksonville Jaguars receiver Allen Robinson had a breakout year in 2015 and that led many to expect him to become one of the league’s next elite receivers.

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It’s six games into the 2016 season, however, and Robinson isn’t even the most productive receiver on his team.

The Jaguars' offense has struggled and so has he and that’s a big reason the team is 2-4 heading into Thursday night’s game at Tennessee in a season that was supposed to see them contend for the AFC South title. To make things worse, Robinson just had one of the worst games of his career, catching just two passes for nine yards in the Jaguars’ 33-16 loss to Oakland.

"I would say it’s been one of the more frustrating years of me playing football in general," Robinson said. "But at the end of the day, I can’t let that have any effect on my play. At the end of the day, I’ve got to go out there and play. For me, just this week, just trying to get my mental [approach] right, help my teammates out, and all just try to go out there and have fun and make it easier on one another."


Allen Robinson caught just two passes for nine yards in the Jaguars' loss to Oakland. David Rosenblum/ Icon Sportswire
Robinson knew it wasn’t going to be easy in 2016 coming off a season in which he caught 80 passes for 1,400 yards and 14 touchdowns and made the Pro Bowl. Receivers coach Jerry Sullivan made it very clear to him during the offseason that he would be the focal point of opposing defenses. He would be double-teamed, defensive backs would be more physical with him, and teams would keep a safety over the top to keep Robinson from making the big plays down the field that he thrived upon last season.

It was something that Robinson was going to have to fight through, just like the league’s other elite receivers. A.J. Green, Julio Jones, Antonio Brown, DeAndre Hopkins and others all receive the same kind of attention and they all had to learn how to adjust.

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It’s taking Robinson longer than he thought. He has 26 catches for 296 yards and three touchdowns and is averaging 11.4 yards per catch. Through six games last season he had 28 catches for 488 yards and five touchdowns and was averaging 17.4 yards per catch. Nearly the same number of catches, but the biggest difference is that Robinson isn’t making plays down the field.

That was his strength and a big part of the Jaguars’ offense in 2015. Blake Bortles gave the 6-foot-3 Robinson plenty of jump balls and back-shoulder throws and Robinson thrived on those plays. Robinson had 13 catches of 30 or more yards, including five in the first six games. He has just one this season.

"I’ve just got to go out there and play," Robinson said. "I can’t press for the big plays and things like that. I just got to go out there and make the plays when my number is called.

"It all depends on the looks and things that we’re getting. For me at the end of the day, I trust in the plan week in, week out."

Teammate Marqise Lee, who leads the Jaguars with 29 catches for 337 yards, said he can tell Robinson is frustrated with the way defenses are playing him this season. Defensive backs are being more physical with Robinson at the line of scrimmage and they’re pulling and tugging and banging him around during his routes. Sometimes that’s getting called but other times it’s not, and that’s irritating Robinson.

"You’ve got to be prepared for it," Lee said. "We know what we signed up for. We know you aren’t going to come off the line and get a clean release every time. We know things are not going to happen like that, but at the end of the day, we know that we just got to go out there and compete and A-Rob knows the exact same thing. He knows he’s going to go out there and do the things he needs to do.


"I can honestly tell you it’s not every week a receiver is going to get off [and have a great game]. There’s going to be some weeks where you have a slump and A-Rob, unfortunately, is having a little slump at the beginning of the year but he’s going to fix it up. Everybody knows how good A-Rob is so we’re not worried at all."

That includes Bortles, who has watched Robinson drop three passes this season and had two other passes that should have been completions bounce off Robinson’s hands and get intercepted -- including one in the end zone against Chicago two weeks ago.

Robinson dropped only four passes last season.

"It’s obviously very uncharacteristic for A-Rob to drop a ball," Bortles said. "I know from his point of view, he wants to get an opportunity so bad. He’s getting doubled; he’s getting safeties over the top of him. I know he’s juiced up and dying to make a play.

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"From my point of view, it doesn’t matter if he drops one ball or 10 balls, every time I get a chance to throw Allen Robinson the ball, I’m gonna."

Indianapolis Colts #1 Pat McAfee

Indianapolis Colts #1 Pat McAfee
INDIANAPOLIS -- Colts quarterback Andrew Luck is on his third offensive coordinator in five years in the NFL.

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And if there’s one thing that has become evident with Rob Chudzinski as the coordinator, it’s that he prefers to have Luck operating out of the shotgun no matter the down, the situation or what part of the field they’re at.

The Colts have run 469 offensive plays this season. And of those 469 plays, Luck has lined up in the shotgun on 260 of those plays, run and pass.


Andrew Luck has lined up in the shotgun on 260 of the Colts' 469 offensive plays this season. Jim Brown/USA TODAY Sports
Not counting 2015, when Luck missed nine games and the Colts switched coordinators after Week 9, the quarterback has attempted a career-high 74.2 percent of his passes out of the shotgun this season. Luck is 136-of-205 for 1,518 yards, 12 touchdowns and four interceptions while operating out of the shotgun.

“Andrew is very comfortable in the shotgun a lot, so that’s something that plays into it as well," Chudzinski said. "Your run game, certain things you’re going to do in the shotgun, certain things you do under center.”

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Chudzinski mentioned how the game has changed from when quarterbacks ran the offense predominantly under center earlier in his career.

Being in the shotgun, according to Chudzinski, allows the quarterback to see the field better and still run the offense the same. It’s not uncommon for quarterbacks to enter the NFL being more familiar with running the offense out of the shotgun than under center.

“You can do the run game and do so many things more that you didn’t used to do,” Chudzinski said. “You can do them in the gun. That’s how you’re seeing the game move.”

One of the biggest disadvantages of not having Luck under center is that the Colts can’t use his 6-foot-4, 240-pound frame to run quarterback sneaks. But Chudzinski believes they can do everything else in the run game. Running back Frank Gore is averaging 4.1 yards on the 30 carries he has made when the Colts were in the shotgun.

“When you’re in the gun or under center, the exchange point is going to happen,” Chudzinski said. “You’re still taking the ball back to the running back. It’s not like you’re under center and you’re stepping and the guy is coming up to take the ball at the line of scrimmage.

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“Defenses will give you different looks based on if you’re in the gun or under center. If you’re under center they’re all crowding up in there, especially something up the middle. Sometimes in the gun they loosen up because there’s more of a pass threat, more of a threat on the edge and those types of things. You can get different things out of your different alignments, particularly if you’re talking about in short-yardage situations.”

Houston Texans #99 J.J. Watt

Houston Texans #99 J.J. Watt
ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- For the first time since he fractured his left forearm in the Denver Broncos' Week 2 victory over the Indianapolis Colts, linebacker DeMarcus Ware was back on the practice field Wednesday.

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"I think we've got a shot," Broncos coach Gary Kubiak said of seeing DeMarcus Ware return for Week 8. Ron Chenoy/USA TODAY Sports
Ware was wearing a padded shield on his injured arm as he went through his first practice since he fractured the bone just before halftime against the Colts. Ware was officially listed as limited in Wednesday's practice -- the Broncos did not have pads or helmets -- but coach Gary Kubiak said he liked what he saw.

Asked if he believed Ware could play Sunday against the San Diego Chargers, Kubiak said: “I think we’ve got a shot, I’m encouraged by what we saw today. ... We’ll pick it up [Thursday], but I felt good about what I saw him do [Wednesday].’’

Ware himself said he wasn’t sure, but wants to get back as quickly as possible.

“[I] feel really good, but it’s a process, though,’’ the 34-year-old said. “... Don’t know if I’m going to play this week, don’t know if I’m going to play next week, but if it progresses like it should, you know I’ll be out there.’’

After Sunday's game against the Chargers, the Broncos have road games at Oakland (Nov. 6) and at New Orleans (Nov. 13) before their bye week. Ware, who usually lines up on the defensive right, said the fact that the injury was to his left arm matters because he often uses that arm in his first move against opposing offensive linemen.

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Shane Ray, who has four sacks this season, has played in Ware’s spot much of the time since the injury. Ware said as the bone has healed, he has tried to regain his strength in the arm and aim to minimize the pain he has when he returns to the lineup.

“I play on the right side so the majority of time when I’m punching, I’m punching a guy with my left arm,’’ Ware said, adding that he feels “that shocking sensation going through the bone ... just making sure it’s not painful every single time you hit somebody.’’

Ware, who had 1.5 sacks in the season opener against the Carolina Panthers, will practice, and play, in the near future with a soft cast on his forearm that “has a lot of padding around it.’’

Linebacker Von Miller, who has 6.5 sacks since Ware’s injury and 7.5 for the season, said it will be far more difficult to double-team Miller when Ware is once again in the rotation in the pass rush. The Broncos, with Ware having missed five full games, head into Week 8 with an NFL-best 22 sacks.

Ware’s presence in the Broncos' rotation will only make the defense more difficult for opposing offenses to handle. Ware said one offshoot of all of the training and conditioning he’s done as he has recovered from the injury was that he's slightly bigger now.

“I’m about 250 [pounds], I feel like a beast ... just waiting for my arm to get right,’’ Ware said.

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Ware is 10th all-time in sacks with 136.5 in his career. He needs six more to move all the way up to No. 5. Bruce Smith, with 200, is atop the list.