The way both the passing offense and rushing defense has struggled over the first two months of the season, the Bears look like they’ll have their hands full when they travel to Minneapolis to take on the Vikings this Sunday. But they can be stopped. Wide receiver Ihmir Smith-Marsette came to the Bears from the Vikes and said success against his former teammates comes down to two things, at least on defense.
“Double 18 (Justin Jefferson) and make sure Dalvin Cook doesn’t get started.”
Smith-Marsette clarified he’s got love for everyone in the Vikings locker room, but if he were the defensive coordinator those two guys would get his full attention. So that’s where we’ll start this week, with the Bears three keys to pulling off an upset victory in Minnesota.
DO NOT LET JUSTIN JEFFERSON GET OPEN
Don’t do it. Have eyes on him every single snap, and make sure there’s always help coming over the top. The Lions and Eagles both successfully contained Jefferson this season, and they followed the same recipe. They had their top cornerback follow Jefferson around the field, and they gave that cornerback plenty of help from safeties bracketing over the top and linebackers in the middle. They communicated a lot with handoffs when Jefferson entered another part of the field. The Vikings will try to get Jefferson open with lots of pre-snap movement, and the Bears will need to communicate in those situations too. If Jefferson finds space, he can make opponents look silly, so the defense will have to tail him constantly. If Jaylon Johnson is good to go, the Bears should strongly consider having him shadow Jefferson, even if it significantly alters the type of defense they normally play.
STUFF DALVIN COOK AT THE LINE
Even if the Bears manage to contain Jefferson, their work is far from done. Dalvin Cook is still one of the premiere running backs in the NFL, even though he hasn’t gone off with eye-popping highlights this season. The Vikings will likely look at the Bears bottom-ranked run defense and lick chops, thinking this will be the week for Cook to break loose, and the Bears will need to be prepared to stop him. The efforts they’ve recently put together tackling, and creating disruption behind the backfield will not be enough. If they play the same way they did against Saquon Barkley and the Giants, the defense will be in for a long game since Cook is incredibly dangerous when he hits the second level. But if they manage to meet Cook at the line of scrimmage, and bring him down at first contact, they’ll go a long way towards putting themselves in favorable positions and jump-starting their pass rush.
NFL
SCORE MORE TOUCHDOWNS THAN FIELD GOALS
Before Week 4, the Bears had a top-five red zone offense, scoring on five of their seven trips inside the 20-yard line. Things never clicked against the Giants, however, and they had to settle for field goals on all three of their red zone opportunities. If they had kept up with their previous rate, two of those field goals would’ve been touchdownsー an eight point difference with the extra points. Instead of losing 20-12, they would’ve been playing in overtime. This week, the Bears face the Vikings’ much more potent offense, which ranks sixth in the NFC with 86 points scored. The Bears rank dead last with 64. Even if the defense plays well, the Vikings will find a way to put points on the board, and the Bears will need to make the most of their opportunities to keep pace. That means playing in the red zone like they had in their first three games, and not how they played in Week 4.
FINAL SCORE PREDICTION
The Vikings have a more talented roster than any other team the Bears have faced this season. It will be too tough of a challenge for them to overcome as they try to correct their mistakes from last week.
Vikings: 27, Bears: 17