Minnesota Vikings @ Chicago Bears: Game Info, Preview and Prediction

Three.

That’s how many players on the current Minnesota Vikings roster were also on the roster the last time the Vikings beat the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field.

It was 2007, and rookie running back Adrian Peterson rumbled for 224 rushing yards and three touchdowns. Chad Greenway and Brian Robison were the other members of the 2007 roster that are still with the team today.

Is it a curse? Are the Vikings jinxed? Are they just that bad at Soldier Field? Nobody really knows. However, this week appears as good of a week as any to snap the seven-game losing streak at Soldier Field. The Bears currently sit at 2-4 and are coming off a bye week in Week 7, while the Vikings were able to take down the Lions behind a strong defensive performance to move to 4-2 on the season.

This is another one of those important tests that will tell us just how good the Vikings are. Good teams win these games, and average or bad teams might not. We’ll find out a lot about this team on Sunday.

Game Info

Location: Soldier Field — Chicago, Illinois

Time: 12:00 PM CST

TV: FOX, NFL RedZone (Chris Myers, Ronde Barber, Holly Sonders)

Standings: Vikings (4-2, 2nd in NFC North), Bears (2-4, 3rd in NFC North)

Link to the Injury Report HERE

Preview

I’ll be honest, this game scares me a little bit (last week’s game also scared me, so I guess it’s a good thing). The Bears’ last competition was back in Week 6 when they fell victim to the Lions at Ford Field by a score of 37-34. One thing that’s noticeable about this season compared to past seasons is the improved play of Jay Cutler. Despite not having Alshon Jeffery for most of the season and losing rookie wide receiver Kevin White for the entire season, Cutler’s play has kept the Bears in the last three games, winning two of them.

Additionally, Jay Cutler has historically done pretty well against the Vikings, especially at Soldier Field. Cutler has not lost a game against the Vikings in his seven-year tenure with Chicago while completing over 67% of his passes for 1587 yards, 16 touchdowns, and eight interceptions in six games.

For the Vikings to flip the script this week, the formula will be the same as it has been all season — get pressure on him. The Vikings have been successful in this aspect in virtually every game this season, and were able to shred the Detroit offensive line last week for seven sacks. Anyone who’s watched Cutler in his career knows that he can become rattled easily under pressure, and that’s when he starts making mistakes. If Zimmer can replicate what he did this past Sunday and the likes of Everson Griffen, Brian Robison, Eric Kendricks, Anthony Barr, and Tom Johnson can execute it, the Vikings defense should have success.

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One concern on this Vikings defense is the coverage abilities of the linebackers, particularly Anthony Barr and Eric Kendricks. Combined, these two were targeted nine times last week and allowed nine receptions for 153 yards and a touchdown. This week, one of them will likely be assigned tight end Martellus Bennett in passing situations, so that will be something to keep an eye on. Bennett is one of Cutler’s favorite targets, especially in the red zone or as a safety valve. If Kendricks and Barr can bottle him up, it’ll make things pretty difficult for Cutler.

Offensively, the Vikings need to get that ground attack going. It seems really weird to tell the team ranking 6th in the NFL in rushing yards per game to get the ground attack going, but it needs to be much more consistent. Norv Turner has become unbelievably predictable with his playcalling and the offensive line has gotten little or no push in the past few weeks, giving Adrian Peterson hardly any chance (aside for a few carries). A couple stats regarding Adrian Peterson’s season so far:

Over 40% of his 530 rushing yards for the season have come on just five of his 120 carries.
On three of his carries against Detroit last week, Peterson totaled 102 yards. On his other 16 carries, he totaled -4 yards.

I don’t mean to place all the blame on Peterson here, because I think there are certainly bigger issues at hand (Turner and the offensive line). Peterson has been indecisive at times, though, and this has contributed to the problem.

Despite a weak rushing attack the past few weeks, Teddy Bridgewater has been fairly solid through the air. The Vikings have inexplicably stuck with the ground game and it’s resulted in a decent play action passing game. Also, Bridgewater’s new favorite target Stefon Diggs has burst onto the scene and become a serious weapon for this offense. I mean, look at this play.

Another issue this offense had last week was producing in the red zone. Blair Walsh hit five field goals last week, and that was largely due to the Vikings red zone offense basically not existing. I attribute much of this to Turner’s playcalling as well. Hopefully, the Vikings get more creative and execute better in these situations this Sunday.

This week appears to be a great week to fix these issues, as the Bears haven’t exactly been stellar on defense this season. Through seven weeks, the Bears currently rank 29th in the NFL in points allowed (29.1) and 24th in rushing yards allowed per game (124.8).

Prediction

While I’m scared about this game, I do feel a little bit better about this game than I did about last week’s contest. The Vikings absolutely dominated those final three quarters against Detroit last week (outscoring them 21-5), and I believe they’ll carry that momentum over to Soldier Field.

Vikings 30, Bears 17

If you have a prediction of your own or any other thoughts, ideas, agreements, disagreements, etc., feel free to leave it in the comments section below.

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