Cordarrelle Patterson's kick return touchdown gives Bears a spark, but not enough

When the offense doesn’t work, sometimes it takes a special teams touchdown to bring a team to life.

Return specialist Cordarrelle Patterson's 104-yard kick return sparked the Bears in a 19-13 loss to the Minnesota Vikings on Monday Night Football at Soldier Field.

On another dismal night for the Bears offense, Patterson's score coming out of halftime gave the team life in a crucial NFC North matchup. It wasn't enough to save the Bears from squandering a lead and imploding on offense in the second half.

“I’ve just got to give it up to those 10 guys that were blocking for me,” Patterson said. “Man, they did a heck of a job. We work it every week, man. Every week at practice. Every time we get the ball, we want to go out on kickoff return and score. Those boys did a heck of a job.”

Patterson’s return marked his eighth career kickoff return for a touchdown. Patterson tied Leon Washington and Josh Cribbs with the most kickoff return touchdowns in an NFL career.

It was his second kickoff return touchdown in a Bears uniform after taking one to the house last season against the New Orleans Saints at Soldier Field.

Patterson said the Bears’ offensive struggles just mean he needs to do more on kick return.

“I hold myself accountable to go out there every time and score touchdowns,” Patterson said. “So I've gotta do more for my team and get my team in better situations.”

With running back David Montgomery out with a concussion, Patterson was also the team’s top option at running back. Patterson carried the ball a career-high 12 times for 30 yards. The Bears had only 41 yards rushing in the game.