On Sunday afternoon, the Minnesota Vikings take on the Chicago Bears at noon central on Fox.
When discussing the matchups between the two franchises, it’s hard to steer away from the narrative that the quarterback position provides.
When it comes down to it, there are a number of factors that will determine the victor. Solid quarterback play, winning at the line of scrimmage, winning the turnover battle, playing sound situational football and overcoming or taking advantage of an injury situation.
In this preview, Tyler Forness of Vikings Wire and Alyssa Barbieri of Bears Wire went deep into the matchup to preview Sunday’s game.
Quarterback play
Bears Wire: It’s been a rough start to Year 2 for Justin Fields, who’s regressed through the first four games. While he did show signs of improvement last week, it’s not saying much given how bad things have been. It certainly doesn’t help that Fields’ offensive line hasn’t given him much help or that Darnell Mooney is the only receiver he seems to trust. Fields still looks uncomfortable in the pocket where he’s choosing to tuck it and run rather than trust his offensive line to give him the time to find an open receiver. Which is exactly how he got hurt last year. The hope heading into this game is that Fields will continue to show progress and that the offensive line can keep him upright. Whether it happens remains to be seen.
Vikings Wire: The Vikings have one of the more controversial quarterbacks in the league. Kirk Cousins is very good but hasn’t quite been good enough. This year has been a different story. Cousins has led two game-winning drives but his stats aren’t on par with last season, having thrown six touchdowns to four interceptions. One of the issues that Cousins has had is not trusting his receivers. The trio of Justin Jefferson, Adam Thielen and K.J. Osborn has been getting open consistently, especially on corner routes, but he hasn’t felt comfortable making those throws yet. Cousins needs to establish some consistency and continuity with this offense and Sunday’s game is a good start.
Advantage: Vikings
Line of scrimmage
Bears Wire: The Bears’ offensive line is a mess, especially with their best lineman, Cody Whitehair, landing on IR with a knee injury. Pass protection has been a struggle, and it’s clear Justin Fields doesn’t trust his offensive line. He’s bailing out of the pocket early and deciding to use his legs rather than try and make things happen downfield. The one thing the offensive line has fared well in is run blocking, as Chicago boasts the league’s third-best run game, averaging 177.3 yards per game. The defensive line has been a bit of a letdown through the first four games, especially off the edge. The Bears have just seven sacks this season, which ranks 22nd in the NFL. It’s not the kind of production you’d expect from this group featuring Robert Quinn, Al-Quadin Muhammad and Trevis Gipson. Then there’s the matter of the league’s worst run defense, allowing 183.3 rushing yards per game. It’s not all on the defensive line – as the linebackers have struggled – but it’s not encouraging facing Dalvin Cook.
Vikings Wire: In a transition to the Vic Fangio-style 3-4, the Vikings have had some issues in the running game. They have struggled against the run allowing 131 yards per game and the Bears and Khalil Herbert could be in for a big game if the Vikings can’t figure it out. On the offensive side, the bookend tackles of Brian O’Neill and Christian Darrisaw have more than held up on the outside. The theory of leaving them on an island to strengthen the interior has worked well. Garrett Bradbury has never looked better than he has this season. The coaching staff has done a great job maximizing his limited strength profile, including helping him grow enough to stand up Jordan Davis. The best part for the Vikings? They don’t have to deal with Akiem Hicks anymore.
Advantage: Vikings
Turnovers
Bears Wire: Chicago’s defense has done a good job taking the football away (seven times through four games). Safety Eddie Jackson has three interceptions already, and the Bears are 12-1 when Jackson intercepts a pass. Unfortunately, the Bears offense hasn’t done a great job protecting the football, coughing it up seven times already, which gives them only a 0 turnover differential through four weeks.
Vikings Wire: The Vikings have not had the best turnover luck this season but it could be worse. They are a net +1 in turnover margin ranking 14th in turnovers forced with six and 13th in giveaways with five. If you eliminate the Eagles game, the Vikings would sit at +3. The main key to winning the turnover battle is for Cousins to be more calculated with his decision-making and throwing passes that only his receivers can catch. Outside of Dalvin Cook’s injury fumble, the Vikings have been great in not putting the ball on the ground.
Advantage: Vikings
Situational
Bears Wire: The Bears need to be better on third down on offense and defense.
The offense has converted 34% of their third downs, which ranks 25th, and the defense allows third down conversions on 42.31% (23rd) through four games. Third down will be key in this game. The offense needs to sustain drives and the defense needs to get off the field on third down. Before last week, Chicago had one of the better red zone offenses in the NFL. That is, until going 0-for-3 against the Giants last week. They’re now converting in the red zone just 50% of the time (23rd). The defense has fared better in the red zone, allowing opponents to score just 50% of the time (10th).
Vikings Wire: The Vikings are the best in the NFL at converting first downs on early downs but sit at 28th in the NFL on third downs. One of the reasons for the lack of success has been the indecisiveness in the passing game. That will come as Cousins gets more comfortable. Same with the red zone where the Vikings are 25th in the league in converting just seven out of 15 attempts. The defense has been much better in situational football ranking 12th in third-down percentage but a low 28th in red zone percentage.
Advantage: Push
Injuries
Bears Wire: It looks like top cornerback Jaylon Johnson will miss a third straight game, which isn’t good news with Justin Jefferson and Adam Thielen on deck. That means it’ll be Kindle Vildor, Kyler Gordon and Jaylon Jones holding down the fort. There is good news as Chicago looks to get back two starters, including running back David Montgomery. Montgomery suffered an ankle injury back in Week 3, which forced him to miss last week, but he looks poised to make his return to the starting lineup. Linebacker Matt Adams, who missed the last two games with a hamstring injury, also looks to be good to go.
Vikings Wire: Before Lewis Cine got injured, the Vikings had only four games lost due to injury. They have five players currently on the injury report but they all practiced in a limited capacity on Thursday. The one concern is starting cornerback Cameron Dantzler who practiced in full on Wednesday but was downgraded to limited on Thursday. Outside of the concern with Dantzler, the Vikings are looking to be in good shape.
Advantage: Vikings
Verdict: Advantage Vikings
In this division rivalry, the Vikings have won four of the last five including winning both meetings last season. The Vikings have won games against the Bears in ugly fashion, which is a similar way to how the Vikings have won games this season. That trend should continue here as the Vikings should be able to outmatch a Bears team at the beginning of their rebuild.
