A look at positional group matchups with key statistics in the Monday night game between the Chicago Bears and Minnesota Vikings with a final call on the outcome.
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00:00 [ Music ]
00:09 >> Justin Fields produced last week, but the Bears have more
00:12 at stake than just Justin Fields' progress.
00:14 They have a coaching staff, which probably needs some victory.
00:18 Meanwhile, the Minnesota Vikings had their winning streak ended.
00:21 It's the Bears and the Vikings in Minneapolis
00:24 on Monday Night Football.
00:26 Here's who wins and why.
00:29 There are a couple areas where the teams are even.
00:31 Bears running against the Vikings run defense.
00:34 With Khalil Herbert back last week,
00:36 the Bears' rushing game turned it up a notch.
00:39 They had their season high with 183 yards.
00:42 And the running backs really didn't have that good of a day.
00:45 You have to expect they're going to perform better.
00:47 Minnesota was eighth in stopping the run,
00:50 fourth in yards allowed for attempt.
00:52 The blitzing that the Vikings do snuffs out a lot
00:55 of running games, especially a solar developing blocking scheme
00:58 like the Bears use.
00:59 Also on special teams, the Bears are last in covering punts.
01:03 And the Vikings are 13th in covering them.
01:06 So there's a big edge.
01:07 But the other big difference
01:08 on special teams is field goal kicking,
01:10 where Cairo Santos is 95% with just one miss.
01:14 And Greg Joseph is at 77.3% for the Vikings.
01:18 An area where the Bears have a big edge should be
01:21 in stopping Minnesota's running attack.
01:23 The Vikings are averaging 3.9 yards a carry
01:26 with Alexander Madison and Cam Akers.
01:28 They get some tough yardage.
01:31 And they're 27th, though, in rushing overall.
01:33 The Bears are number two stopping the run with TJ Edwards
01:37 and the surging defensive front.
01:38 They're number one in yards allowed for rush at 3.4 yards.
01:42 The Vikings get an edge with their coaching.
01:46 Kevin O'Connell is being mentioned as a possible coach
01:49 of the year after they won five straight games
01:51 after losing Kirk Cousins and Justin Jefferson to injuries.
01:56 Matt Eberfloos is still trying to win two straight.
01:59 And Intangibles, there is a home dome edge here
02:03 with the incessant Vikings horn blowing.
02:06 They need to bring back Ragnar.
02:08 Also on the Viking side is their passing game
02:12 against the Bears' past defense.
02:14 Even without Justin Jefferson, if he doesn't play,
02:16 and Kirk Cousins, Joshua Dobbs has performed admirably.
02:20 And Jordan Addison and TJ Hawkinson are enough
02:23 to pick up the slack.
02:24 The Bears have a much better pass rush than they had the last time they faced the Vikings.
02:29 Their coverage is picked up as well, but not when it counts most.
02:34 Last week was evidence of this.
02:37 Minnesota must raid an edge with its past defense
02:40 against the Bears' passing game.
02:41 DJ Moore was shut down the first time that they played the Vikings.
02:46 Justin Fields had only 60 yards passing into the third quarter.
02:52 Also, Danielle Hunter's pass rush had them totally terrorized.
02:55 The Bears have the ability to make this matchup closer
02:58 if Justin Fields can connect and if their offensive line
03:01 can handle the blitzes that Minnesota uses.
03:04 On paper, this looks like another Bears-type game
03:07 and disappointment.
03:09 A 17-13 loss, which might not be a lot different
03:12 than the earlier game against the Vikings.
03:15 The Bears just have to hope that Justin Fields doesn't get hurt in this one.
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