The Minnesota Vikings (4-6) were close to defeating the Chicago Bears (7-4) on Sunday. And understandably frustration has to be mounting for the team. Even so, despite seeing the game in reach without much of a spark on offense, the game stayed just out of Minnesota's grasp.

The Vikings mounted a comeback with two fourth quarter touchdown drives. The first culminated in a 16-yard touchdown rush by Minnesota running back Jordan Mason with 12:33 left in the fourth quarter to cut Chicago's lead to 16-10. It was one of six rushes by Mason who had an impressive 45-yard day with limited opportunities.

Later in the fourth quarter, J.J. McCarthy capped a comeback drive with a 15-yard touchdown to wide receiver Jordan Addison with 50 seconds remaining in the game. The score and point after attempt put the Vikings ahead 17-16 with a chance to win. The celebration, however, was short-lived.

Chicago Bears wide receiver quickly answered the score with an explosive kickoff return that went for 56 yards to put the team in position for a quick score. After the offense set Chicago up for a game winning kick, Bears kicker Cairo Santos punched through a 48-yard field goal as time expired.

Ultimately, there are any number of things one could point to as reasons for the game going against the Vikings. Certainly the decision to kick to Duvernay and the special teams' execution of kickoff coverage was a failure that affected the game. But the biggest detriment to the team's chances came from first-year starting quarterback J.J. McCarthy.

Growing pains were always to be expected from the young quarterback. Most quarterbacks don't simply go from performing at a high level in college to seamlessly transitioning to the NFL. The learning curve is different for many quarterbacks at the professional level. But McCarthy's performance simply hasn't been good enough for the Vikings to win consistently.

That's not to say that McCarthy won't become that quarterback for the team, but that he hasn't been the difference maker in games yet this season.

McCarthy threw for 150 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions on 50% completions for the day. His 150-yard day was his best showing in three games against divisional opponents. One interception prevented a Minnesota score with the Vikings in field goal range. The other spotted Chicago the ball on the Minnesota 25-yard line before a decisive field goal.

The Vikings will look to right the ship offensively as the season nears its close.