Breaking down the key position group battles and statistics in the Chicago Bears game against the Minnesota Vikings Sunday with a final prediction.
Category
🥇
SportsTranscript
00:00 Well the Bears are no longer saddled with a 14 game losing streak, although they still
00:13 do have a 10 game NFC North losing streak to address.
00:17 And they want to start their own winning streak, and who better to do it against than Minnesota
00:21 without Justin Jefferson due to a hamstring injury.
00:25 It's the Bears and the Vikings at Soldier Field in Noon on Sunday.
00:28 Here's who wins and why.
00:29 The only area where I can give the Vikings a clear edge in this game is with their passing
00:34 game against the Bears past defense.
00:36 They don't have Jefferson because of a hamstring injury, but they still have Kirk Cousins and
00:40 they have TJ Hawkinson and rookie wide receiver Jordan Addison.
00:45 And their offensive system allows them to throw well.
00:48 They also have two great pass blocking tackles.
00:51 If the Bears had a pass rusher and had been playing strong defense it would be easy to
00:55 call this a push, but they don't.
00:58 They're getting starters back in their secondary, Jalen Johnson, Kyler Gordon, maybe Eddie Jackson,
01:03 but they weren't playing good pass defense before those injuries.
01:06 And the sacks they had last week against Washington were all late and after the fact.
01:11 No one gets an edge with the Bears running game against a Vikings run defense.
01:16 You might think the Bears deserve it, but they're down to their third running back.
01:19 Dante Foreman backed up by a guy who was in Miami last week, Terrence Evans.
01:25 Vikings have allowed more than 83 yards rushing only once.
01:28 As for the Bears passing game against Minnesota's poorest pass defense, the Bears need to see
01:34 a second receiving target step up.
01:37 DJ Moore can't do it all.
01:38 Colt Comet is playing with a hamstring injury.
01:41 Minnesota has Daniel Hunter who has six sacks.
01:44 And safety, Harrison Smith, as always, should be a headache for the Bears.
01:49 So their blitzing scheme can cause them to get burned, but it also causes a lot of disruption.
01:55 The Bears lack a strong pass blocker in their backfield now at this time with the injuries.
02:00 So Justin Fields might not get the chance to throw downfield to DJ Moore like he did
02:04 last week.
02:07 Another total wash in this battle is special teams.
02:12 Tyro Santos and Greg Joseph are pretty even as kickers, but maybe a slight edge to Santos.
02:17 And the Vikings punting game is better than the Bears.
02:19 They also cover punts better.
02:22 The punt return game is on the Bears side, definitely.
02:25 Coaching is a push as well.
02:26 A year ago Kevin O'Connell was in the running for coach of the year, but they won a lot
02:30 of close games.
02:31 Now they're losing those games.
02:33 Morris's reliance on blitzing leaves him exposed, but they also get pressure from it.
02:39 Matt Iberflue's got the Bears through the storm, but he's still 1-14 in his last 15
02:44 games.
02:45 The Bears run defense has an advantage here.
02:47 Alexander Madison is their key runner and they're only 29th in rushing.
02:53 They decided to do away with their running game when they got rid of Delvin Cook.
02:57 The Bears have improved against the run largely because of Andrew Billings and TJ Edwards.
03:02 They're 11th against the run, although they are vulnerable sometimes to a big play.
03:07 The other big edge for the Bears is intangibles.
03:10 Besides being done with a losing streak and getting healthier, they have the weather advantage.
03:15 The forecasts say it could rain early, wind around 20 mph.
03:20 This is not Viking weather.
03:22 They love their dome and their artificial turf.
03:25 The Bears' biggest win in the last three years was in a mess at Soldier Field, and this could
03:30 be a mess.
03:32 So with those two advantages, I'm calling this a narrow and hard fought Bears victory.
03:37 24-23.
03:39 No more Bears fans wearing bags on their heads.
03:42 The win at home for the first time since week three of 2022.
03:46 [MUSIC]