WR Velus Jones Jr. scores 1st career touchdown in Bears loss

MINNEAPOLIS - A week ago in his NFL debut, Bears receiver Velus Jones Jr. experienced the lowest of the lows. He fumbled away the football on a punt return with his team trailing by a touchdown in the final minutes. It basically ended the game.

Making his first appearance since returning from a hamstring injury, Jones didn't play a single snap on offense last week. He was used only as a return man, and he dropped the ball on the most momentous return of the game.

Flash-forward a week and the feeling is quite different. Jones finally played some snaps for the offense, and he scored a touchdown to help spark a furious Bears comeback attempt. The comeback ultimately fell short when the Bears fumbled the ball away on a potential game-tying drive. The Vikings won, 29-22, on Sunday at U.S. Bank Stadium.

Jones, however, is one of the promising bright spots.

Jones scored a touchdown just after halftime to pull his Bears back into a one-possession game, 21-16. Down near the goal line, Jones went in motion on a jet sweep and took a short little shovel pass from quarterback Justin Fields. Jones saw room to run with running back David Montgomery blocking ahead of him.

It was Jones' first career catch and his first career touchdown.

"It was just something going over practice and stuff, me visualizing me actually scoring a touchdown," Jones said. "I believed when my number was called, I was going to make it happen for the team."

The Bears drafted Jones with a third-round pick (71st overall) in the spring. They have big plans for the versatile playmaker on both special teams and on offense. A nagging hamstring injury has been a major pain for Jones. He struggled to remain on the practice field through training camp and the first few weeks of the season.

Sunday's touchdown run was exactly the type of play the Bears envisioned when they drafted Jones.

Vildor's pic:

Bears cornerback Kindle Vildor played in all 17 games last season and started 12 of them. In 17 previous starts at cornerback over three years, Vildor had never pulled in an interception.

Until Sunday.

Vildor picked off Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins early in the fourth quarter to help spur the 18-point comeback effort. Vildor jumped in front of Vikings receiver Adam Thielen. It was a play that Vildor had seen on film.

"I knew in my head when I see it, I'm going to react," Vildor said. "Just go ahead and make that play. When I saw it, it was like, 'Here it come.' He threw it right to me."

It was the first interception of his career and it came at a key moment. The Bears were playing without top cornerback Jaylon Johnson, who sat out with a quad injury. They could've used Johnson, too. Vikings star receiver Justin Jefferson caught 12 passes for 154 yards - most of it in the first half. But the Bears adjusted and played much better in the second half.

Even when the Bears trailed, 21-3, Vildor said there was no panic from the defense.

"We knew the type of team we are," Vildor said. "We know we're built to sustain for a long time. Come back and make plays, be able to help our team out and stuff like that. We're going to play four quarters and keep fighting our way back."

O-line adjustments:

With starting left guard Cody Whitehair sidelined by a right knee injury for at least the next month, the Bears played with the same offensive line that finished last week's game against the New York Giants. Braxton Jones played left tackle, Lucas Patrick was at left guard, Sam Mustipher was at center, Teven Jenkins was at right guard and Larry Borom played right tackle.

The offense as a whole struggled for much of the first half. But things changed after halftime. The Bears gave Fields a relatively clean pocket. He took only 2 sacks in the game.

"I still think we want to have zero errors or never have (Fields) on the ground," Braxton Jones said. "But coming out of that game, I felt a little bit better in protection."

The run game wasn't finding the same kind of success it had in the first four games of the season. The Bears totaled just 78 rushing yards. But the Bears fell behind early and were forced to pass the ball more. They ran only 47 offensive plays compared to 74 for the Vikings.

"We know that we've got to not start so slow as an offense, as a team," Braxton Jones said. "We knew that what we're built on is a second-half team. We're going to keep on punching 'em in the mouth, keep on rolling. But we can't dig ourselves such a hole."