With Bears receiver Ihmir Smith-Marsette facing his former Vikings team, you know he was itching to make an impact. Unfortunately, it wasn’t the positive kind of impact he would’ve liked.
For the second consecutive game, a fumble cost Chicago a chance at victory. Last week, it was rookie Velus Jones Jr. muffing a punt. This week, it was Smith-Marsette fumbling the ball on the Bears’ final offensive series.
On first down from the Chicago 46, quarterback Justin Fields connected with Smith-Marsette for what would’ve been another first-down gain. But instead of going out of bounds — to stop the clock and protect the ball — Smith-Marsette stayed in bounds and tried to pick up extra yardage. The ball was ripped clean out of Smith-Marsette’s hands by Vikings cornerback Cameron Dantzler, which sealed a 29-22 win for Minnesota.
After the game, Smith-Marsette told reporters that he should’ve run out of bounds rather than try to pick up additional yardage.
“It was a selfish play by me,” Smith-Marsette said, via Sean Hammond.
This 2022 season isn’t necessarily about winning for Chicago, which isn’t something they’d admit. But fans know it’s about development, specifically Fields’ growth in Year 2.
So, not only did the fumble cost the Bears a chance at victory, it prevented everyone from seeing exactly what Fields could do with a chance to march the offense down the field for a touchdown to force overtime.
But this is now two straight weeks where Chicago has shot themselves in the foot with the game on the line. It’s something they’ll look to correct on a short turnaround when they host the Commanders on Thursday Night Football.
