Vikings vs. Bears: Preview, Prediction and Poll

Coming into the 2014 season, many thought the Chicago Bears would be Superbowl contenders. The offense was supposed to be prolific, featuring weapons like Brandon Marshall, Alshon Jeffery and Matt Forte for Jay Cutler to sling the ball all over the field to. Well at this point, it’s safe to say things didn’t go according to plan. They’re 5-10 and have been a comedy of errors on both sides of the ball. That said, against the depleted Minnesota Vikings and with pride on the line, we should see a fun contest on Sunday.

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It’s not often a team benches a man making 22.5 million dollars on the year. It’s also not often a man making 22.5 million dollars is in the bottom half of the league in passer rating and has thrown 18 interceptions in 15 games. That is the case for Jay Cutler, a man who looks almost as disinterested as he does unconfident. It’s been a rough year for the QB. He’s heard it from the fans and most recently from his coaching staff, who decided to start Jimmy Clausen last week against the Lions. Unfortunately for Clausen, who looked competent in his opportunity, he’s out with a concussion. That means the Vikings will get Cutler. That’s a good thing, right?

Not necessarily.

There’s a reason he got paid. He’s got a big arm and can make throws to his dangerous targets. If he’s got any sort of pride he will be locked in for this game, as his NFL future might depend on it. Not to mention, when he gets on a roll with Jeffery or Marshall they have big games. That, and Matt Forte is always an issue both on the ground and through the air. I don’t see Cutler giving the Vikings many late Christmas presents this time around.

I won’t say much about the Bears defensively, as there isn’t much to be said. They’re just bad.

The Vikings also have a lot of pride on the line. They’re coming off of a heartbreaking 37-35 loss to the Miami Dolphins in which their defense was worse than I’ve ever seen. Ryan Tannehill looked like Joe Montana and marched his team downfield at will. Needless to say, Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer was not happy.

“We made way too many mistakes,” Zimmer said. “We had penalties in crucial situations of the game. All the things I’ve been trying to preach for 11 months we didn’t do. Critical errors in the field, red zone. … We couldn’t cover anybody. We didn’t rush and we didn’t cover. … We did things I haven’t seen in a long time.”

Safety Harrison Smith agreed, saying, “That pretty much sums up the season right there. We had opportunities to close, and we haven’t closed enough times.”

All that said, I’ll be watching two things closely on Sunday — the defense and Teddy. How will the defense bounce back? They played bad in all facets last week, but it isn’t what we’ve come to expect this season. The defensive line couldn’t find Tannehill with a searchlight and there were wide open receivers all day. It seemed as if the Vikings fielded 10 defensive players, maybe even 9. They need to have a nice game or jobs may be lost in the offseason.