Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins still annoyed by 2018 losses to Bears

During Kirk Cousins' first season with the Vikings, when impressive individual accomplishments were often overshadowed by deflating performances in the team's most important games, there might not have been two contests that stuck out more than the Vikings' pair of losses to the Bears.

In a Sunday night game at Soldier Field last Nov. 18, which began with the quarterback's impassioned pregame speech, Cousins threw a pair of interceptions that helped swing a 25-20 game toward the Bears: an end zone pass intended for Kyle Rudolph at the end of the first half, and a ball intended for Laquon Treadwell that Eddie Jackson brought back for a decisive touchdown with 8:30 to play. The Vikings would have returned to Soldier Field for the first round of the playoffs were it not for a 24-10 home loss to the Bears in Week 17, during which Cousins threw for only 132 yards on 33 attempts.

The second game especially stuck with Cousins through the offseason. Before his first game against the Bears of the 2019 season on Sunday, he made it clear Wednesday it still irks him.

"People always remember how you finish, so when you don't finish as well as you want to, it leaves a sour taste in your mouth for the entire offseason," he said. "Who knows if we win that game and go to the playoffs, how things are different? Maybe they aren't, maybe we lose a playoff game and feel the same. We'll never know. But yeah, it was a disappointing loss. It was very frustrating for a lot of reasons and it has not sat well with me since. Great opportunity for us now to go down to Soldier Field and make amends in some way."

Tale of two Trubiskys

The Vikings head to Chicago with Bears quarterback Mitchell Trubisky — a subject of frequent consternation for Bears fans — coming off his best game of the season Monday night.

Trubisky completed 25 of his 31 passes against Washington's hapless defense, throwing for three touchdowns in the Bears' 31-15 victory. His interception, on a floater that Josh Norman picked off at the Redskins 3-yard line, was a reminder of the kinds of plays that have irked Bears fans about Trubisky (who went No. 2 in the 2017 draft while Patrick Mahomes went 10th overall and Deshaun Watson went 12th). But overall, Trubisky served Chicago some hope before he returns home for the first time since his fourth-quarter, end-zone interception cost the Bears in their season-opening loss to Green Bay.

"He's very talented," Zimmer said. "He runs the football well. I think he sees things really well — you look at some of the [reads] he's doing, where he gets the coverage he likes or the defense he likes, or gets out of it. He's doing well."

Trubisky, who had 68 runs last year, has only run five times through three games. Zimmer doesn't expect the trend of Trubisky staying in the pocket and trying to win by throwing to continue this week, though.

"Not usually against us," Zimmer said with a smile.

Alexander at practice

Cornerback Mackensie Alexander, who dislocated his right elbow in the Vikings' first game of the season against the Falcons, took a step toward returning Wednesday. Alexander was a limited participant in the Vikings' first practice of the week, returning to practice for the first time since the Sept. 8 injury.

Linebacker Anthony Barr, who missed Sunday's game because of a groin injury, was also a limited participant, though Barr said he expects he'll be ready for the Bears game.

Guard Josh Kline, who remains in the NFL's concussion protocol, was the Vikings' only nonparticipant in practice.