The Minnesota Vikings take on the Chicago Bears on Sunday in a divisional matchup that feels pivotal for the survival of Minnesota’s 2023 season.
With all the talk about Kirk Cousins, another player who could be on the trading block if things don’t straighten up is OLB Danielle Hunter. Meanwhile, the Bears have been playing some of the best football they’ve played since their 12-win season back in 2018.
All this to say, Chicago is red-hot while Minnesota is sputtering.
Since 2018, the Vikings and Bears have split their series straight down the middle with five wins apiece. If the Vikings want to take the advantage, they will have to stop this Chicago offense. To do that, they will need to follow these four keys to victory on the defensive side of the ball.
Keep Fields out of rhythm
Justin Fields is the first quarterback since Mitchell Trubisky in 2018 to have back-to-back games of passer ratings above 125. Fields has looked more comfortable than any time in his career. One of the reasons is the addition of D.J. Moore, of course (more on him later). But the main reason why is because he has looked more comfortable as a quarterback.
Despite him still being pressured on 32.4% of his dropbacks (4th in the league), he has put up these stellar numbers and has consistently gotten the ball to his playmakers.
To combat that, Flores has to heat up the pocket as much as possible. This is not to say blitz on 80% of his plays like Minnesota did against Los Angeles. But, the goal of Sunday, when it comes to the passing game, should be to get Fields out of whatever rhythm he’s found in the past two games.
On the rollouts that move him out of the pocket, a defender needs to be in his face as he’s throwing the football, this seems like a perfect job for Harrison Smith when he’s near the line of scrimmage. On his straight dropbacks, Marcus Davenport and Danielle Hunter need to keep heat on him from the edge.
Keep pressure on Fields and make him uncomfortable, when he’s uncomfortable, he makes mistakes. For a defense that only has three turnovers on the season, they need to be looking to force as many mistakes as possible.
Control quarterback/outside run game
The running back position for Chicago is currently under construction as they deal with two injuries. Khalil Herbert’s high-ankle sprain will likely keep him out of the game Sunday. Roschon Johnson is currently in concussion protocol and is questionable for Sunday. The only running back that is on pace to play right now is journeyman D’Onta Foreman. This is going to put a lot of pressure on Fields to keep the running game as a threat alongside Foreman.
With Foreman, the outside run game is not as much of a threat, he does most of his damage between the tackles. However, out of the 191 yards for Fields on the season, 142 of them have come outside the tackles at almost 5.7 yards per attempt.
Fields is a true wrecking-ball running the football and is a load to bring down in the open field. Camryn Bynum and Josh Metellus are two of the more sure tacklers at the safety position. They will be tasked to either force Fields back to the inside of the defense or make the tackle on the outside for minimal gain.
Have anyone besides D.J. Moore beat you
Since 1970, there have been only 46 instances of a player going over 350 receiving yards in the span of two games. D.J. Moore’s last two games against the Denver Broncos and the Washington Commanders had him join this rarified air.
Moore showed that he can beat you both on the outside and on the inside, but he likes to live on the outside. His chart for the 230-yard, three touchdown game against the Washington Commanders is exclusively attacking the sidelines of the defense.
If Cole Kmet or Darnell Mooney beat you this game, there is nothing that the Vikings can do. When there is a prolific threat like Moore is and has been, they must be contained at all costs.
Byron Murphy, Jr. has to shake off his subpar performance from last week (6 targets, 5 completions, 36 yards, 2 touchdowns) to help take away this threat on the boundary. Both he and Akayleb Evans have been good at rallying to the sidelines and limiting the success of quick throws to the sideline. That’s one place where Moore thrives as 143 of his 230 yards came after the catch.
Limit yards after catch
55.8% of the passing yards for the Bears have come from yards after the catch. That’s good for fifth in the NFL, just above the Kansas City Chiefs at 54.57%.
This team works best when in space. This offense works best when Justin Fields, as well as the pass-catchers, are on the move and getting into space. Whether that’s Fields rolling out and hitting Mooney on a leak near the sideline or Fields finding Kmet after chipping on a straight dropback.
The Vikings have to rally to the football and constrict the space these pass-catchers have after catching the football. Make them gain every yard through scheming guys open rather than eating up extra yardage after the catch.
