Going old-school: How the Bears may have played a part in the Vikings missing out on Drake Maye

Remember when the 2023 Vikings started 1-4? Remember how excited you were when they won their next five games to claw back into playoff contention?

Well, upon further review …

That five-game run, which fizzled to a 7-10 finish, wasn’t such a good thing, after all. At least not right now with Patriots quarterback Drake Maye looking like a calm, cool Super Bowl-winning-caliber quarterback and fellow 2024 draftee J.J. McCarthy looking anything but as he heads to Green Bay for just his sixth game as a Viking.

The Patriots finished 4-13 in 2023, got the third draft pick overall and picked Maye, the guy the Vikings wanted. All because the Vikings won three more games.

Worse yet, that five-game win streak back in 2023 was ignited by a 19-13 momentum-changing win at Chicago against a Bears team that started Justin Fields, who was then injured and replaced by Tyson Bagent.

So, to recap, the Bears …

Double ouch.

Matthew Stafford’s MVP drive continues Sunday night as the Rams (8-2) host the Buccaneers (6-4) in Week 12’s only game between two NFC teams with winning records. Yeah, Stafford threw for only 130 yards in last week’s win over Seattle, but he also didn’t turn the ball over as his defense was picking off Sam Darnold four times. Stafford has a league-leading 27 touchdown passes and only two interceptions, second-fewest behind the Eagles’ Jalen Hurts (one). Stafford hasn’t thrown an interception since Week 3 and has a 22-to-0 touchdown-to-interception differential as the Rams have gone 6-1 over their last seven games. Stafford has a chance Sunday night to join Tom Brady, Patrick Mahomes and Aaron Rodgers as the only players in NFL history have 30 or more touchdown passes and five or fewer interceptions through 11 games.

373: Yards after the catch — sixth-best in the league — for rookie tight end Tyler Warren as his Colts (8-2) head to Kansas City (5-5) coming off a bye week. Ahead of the 23-year-old Warren on the YAC list are four elite running backs (Christian McCaffrey, Bijan Robinson, De’Von Achane and Jahmyr Gibbs) and Ja’Marr Chase, last year’s receiving Triple Crown winner. Ninth on the list going into what could be a passing-of-the-tight-end-torch game is the Chiefs’ 36-year-old tight end Travis Kelce (339).

The 49ers (7-4) host the Panthers (6-5) on Monday night with McCaffrey sporting six rushing touchdowns and five receiving touchdowns, an NFL-record fourth season with at least five rushing touchdowns and five receiving touchdowns. He surpassed Hall of Famer Marshall Faulk last week and now faces a Panthers defense that’s allowed 13 rushing touchdowns and 13 receiving touchdowns while ranking 29^th in third-down conversions allowed (43.38%). Don’t sleep on McCaffrey — yes, a running back — as an MVP candidate.

Like it or not, McCarthy’s evolution is a crock-pot problem that can’t be fixed in a microwave. Old-timers used to say developing a quarterback generally takes three years. In J.J.’s case, they wouldn’t be wrong.

Not saying Pittsburgh (6-4) at Chicago (7-3) is a battle of division-leading pretenders. You are what your record says you are. But these teams have been blessed with a combined 40 takeaways that have masked a lot of warts. Chicago has a league-leading 22 takeaways, but only one in its three losses. Pittsburgh is third with 18 takeaways, but has only two in its four losses. The Bears have won six of their past seven games, with five of the wins featuring a game-winning score in the final two minutes of regulation or overtime. Takeaways are great, but not something you can game plan or count on.

Vikings (+6½) at Packers: Note to self, stop overthinking it and just take the better team that’s at home and doesn’t have the QB who’s freaking out. Packers 33-21

Jets (+13½) at Ravens: BREAKING — Jets become last people on earth to realize Justin Fields isn’t a quarterback. Ravens 37-20

Patriots (-8½) at Bengals: Dear Drake, Can you teach a guy how not to throw every pass 900 mph? Yours truly, “Nine,” Eagan, Minn. Patriots 34-19

Giants (+10½) at Lions: A deep dive into Dan Campbell’s two-game play-calling stint: He’s good against bad teams and bad against good teams. Lions 30-21

Colts (+3½) at Chiefs: The Colts were off last week. And the Chiefs have been off all season. Colts 27-24

Jaguars (-2½) at Cardinals: Note to self, go ahead and overthink it. Jacksonville is always due to disappoint. Cardinals 21-17

Browns (+3½) at Raiders: Shedeur Sanders, you have one job: Don’t screw up next year’s draft! Raiders 6-2

Eagles (-3½) at Cowboys: A ninth victory and another defensive gem that Eagles fans can use to whine about their offense. Eagles 17-14

Falcons (-1½) at Saints: Kirk Cousins is 0-1 this year. And the Cousins Law of Averageness mandates that he returns to .500 ASAP. Falcons 20-17

Buccaneers (+6½) at Rams: The Rams are much more than Stafford. (See: Beating the Seahawks with 249 yards and 12 first downs.) Rams 30-27

Steelers (+2½) at Bears: Aaron Rodgers explained how he broke his left wrist and apparently it had nothing to do with patting himself on the back. Steelers 28-23

Last week’s pick: Broncos (+3½) 24, Chiefs 21. Final: Broncos 22, Chiefs 19.

Record: 3-7.

Last week/season straight up: 11-4/89-56.

Last week/season against the spread: 6-9/62-83.