MINNEAPOLIS — Let's not overstate it. If the Vikings lose to the Chicago Bears on Sunday, nobody should make the case that the franchise should be folded.
Just moved.
Lose to the Bad-Throws Bears, and you can send the Vikings to Moose Jaw or the metaverse.
London wants a team? Send the Vikings there, and hire Ted Lasso, a specialist in consoling lost causes, to coach them.
Look at the standings, and this game looks like a fair fight. The Vikings are 3-1, with two victories coming against lousy teams. The Bears are 2-2, including a victory over the 49ers.
Look any deeper into the numbers, and this should be Kevin O'Connell's breakout game, his opportunity to show off for the first time since the first 30 minutes of the season.
Remember those 30 minutes?
Good times.
The Vikings took a 17-0 lead over the Packers into the locker room in Week 1. Since stretching that lead to 20-0, they have been outscored by the Packers, Eagles, Lions and the Saints' backups, 80-66.
Because the Vikings are a better team, on paper, than their last two opponents, the only logical conclusion is that O'Connell surprised the Packers with a well-crafted game plan, and has been outcoached ever since.
This is the ideal week to win big, to dominate a game with one of the league's best set of skill-position players, to harass an overmatched quarterback with what should be an excellent pass rush.
I liked the Bears' decision to trade up in the 2021 draft to select quarterback Justin Fields. Let this be a lesson: Never admit publicly that you agree with the Bears on quarterbacks.
Of the 31 quarterbacks who qualify for ESPN's QBR (total quarterback rating), Fields ranks 30th, ahead of only Baker Mayfield, who is about to get ditched by a second consecutive quarterback-hungry franchise.
Fields is completing just 50.7% of his attempts while working in one of the worst passing offenses we've seen in years.
Bears first-year head coach Matt Eberflus is considered a defensive genius, and it takes a defensive genius to hold down a talent like Fields.
The Bears can run the ball, but their best back, David Montgomery, has an ankle injury, and their rushing stats are padded by Fields running for his life.
The Bears rank 21st in defense, measured by total yards allowed. They rank dead last in the NFL in run defense, allowing 183 yards per game.
The Vikings traditionally struggle against the Bears on the white sand beaches of Soldier Field. They have no excuse this week. They will have home-field advantage, on turf, in an environment that should perfectly suit their speed pass rushers.
Counterpoint: Danielle Hunter, Za'Darius Smith and their teammates managed exactly zero sacks against the Lions two weeks ago at U.S. Bank Stadium.
When not being recorded, NFL coaches call this a "get-well game,'' a game that should boost your team's morale as well as its winning percentage.
Players think of these as "get-rich'' games, a way to pad stats that will lead to lucrative contracts.
The Vikings could have been described as lucky so far this season even before they get to play the Bears.
Their starters remain remarkably healthy.
They survived against the Lions in part because Dan Campbell made a series of aggressive decisions that cost his team points.
They survived against the Saints because their special teams excelled and a last-second field-goal attempt by New Orleans hit the upright and crossbar before bouncing away.
Against these Bears, O'Connell should grab a jug of red wine, complain about his kicker, curse Kirk Cousins under his breath and send a mean text about Rick Spielman.
In other words, he should channel Mike Zimmer.
Zimmer would have loved this matchup. The Vikings should be able to run at will, make the game simple for Cousins and harass Fields into mistakes.
The Vikings should be 4-1 before heading to Miami to visit Teddy Bridgewater next week.
If they're not, something is seriously wrong.
