Looking at the Bears-Vikings matchups -- and how much the Bears must fix
The winner of Sunday's matchup between the Chicago Bears and Minnesota Vikings will find itself in relatively good shape in the playoff chase, while the loser will for all practical purposes be done.
What went wrong for the Bears five weeks ago in the 19-13 loss to the Vikings at Soldier Field? David Montgomery was on the bench with a concussion, the offensive line and Nick Foles were simply awful, with Foles totaling just 108 yards through the air, and in spite of the defense doing an excellent job of limiting Dalvin Cook, it allowed the Vikings to convert 8-of-15 third downs and compile a 11:40 advantage in time of possession.
There is much for the Bears to fix.
MATCHUP TO WATCH
Vikings offensive line vs. Bears pass rush.
In spite of being in the bottom third of the league protecting Kirk Cousins, Minnesota almost completely neutralized the Bears pass rush last time.
It took off last Sunday because Khalil Mack decided to take over the game from the opening kick. In spite of not getting home, Robert Quinn was wreaking havoc on the other side, forcing Houston to pay extra attention to Mack and him. Chuck Pagano chose to blitz more, and that freed up multiple rushers to get home.
Pressure Cousins and he will throw you the football.
COACHING DECISION TO WATCH
Will Mike Zimmer attack Mitch Trubisky with pressure or extra DBs?
Zimmer likes the blitz more than Pagano, but is it the best way to challenge Mitch?
Trubisky hasn't done much with his legs since returning to the starting lineup, but he can be dangerous, and making him move without proper contain can force him to make plays with his legs.
On the other hand, the word around the league is that Trubisky can be confused and forced into mistakes with multiple coverages and traffic in the secondary.
He has been reading the field better as of late, but it will be very interesting to see how much Zimmer and the Vikings respect Trubisky's recent improvement.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Justin Jefferson, Alexander Mattison, Jeff Gladney, Cameron Dantzler.
Obviously Cook, Cousins and Adam Thielen are the focal point of the Viking offense, but Jefferson is a front-runner for Offensive Rookie of the Year, already over 1,000 yards receiving and averaging 16.6 a catch, and Mattison averages 4.6 a pop on the ground when he spells Cook.
With Jaylon Johnson, Buster Skrine and Deon Bush all likely out this week, the second options in Minnesota's pass and run game are a concern.
The Vikings' young corners, Gladney and Dantzler, have been up and down, and you can expect Matt Nagy and Bill Lazor to attack them regularly.
THE X-FACTOR(S)
Eric Wilson, Hercules Mata'afa and Ifeadi Odenigbo.
Wilson has emerged as an occasional difference maker in the Vikings' rebuilt defense, and while Mata'afa and Odenigbo are still just developing young players, all three had big games five weeks ago at Soldier Field and need to be accounted for this time if the Bears' offense is going to continue to rise.
WILD-CARD PLAYERS WHO COULD SURPRISE
Irv Smith, Bisi Johnson, Chad Beebe.
The Vikings are very thin at wide receiver but have managed to get big years out of Jefferson, Thielen and Cook, getting away with limited options behind them.
Smith missed the first Bears game but last week had four catches for 63 yards and a score vs. the Bucs and could be a factor.
On third-and-5 at the Bears 36-yard line in the last meeting, Cousins hit Beebe with a 12-yard catch and run to sustain the drive to their first touchdown.
Johnson has been only targeted 18 times this season, but he's caught 13 of them and averaged 13.9 a catch.
THE FINAL WORD
Vikings 30, Bears 27.
The Bears may very well be the more talented team here and they have won their last two in Minnesota. My gut is telling me they could play their best game of the season Sunday and beat the Vikings somewhat handily. But my head is telling me they didn't come close to answering all the questions raised by the six-game losing streak last Sunday, and taking on Thielen, Jefferson and Cook without three of their top six DBs is troublesome.
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