The Vikings were pushed to overtime four weeks ago against the Bears. Jonathan Harrison is joined by Joe Nelson and Will Ragatz to discuss what Monday night's showdown will look like between the Vikings and Bears.
Category
🥇
SportsTranscript
00:00Welcome to the Minnesota Vikings fans to another edition of Vikings on SI right here on the
00:18Bring Me The Sports YouTube channel.
00:20Jonathan Harrison here joined once again by Joe Nelson and Will Raggetts.
00:23Guys, it's a little bit early, eerier than normal because Vikings don't play until Monday
00:27night but we're here.
00:29We're going to record, we're going to record and get our predictions on tape for Monday
00:33night football Vikings versus the Chicago Bears second time these two teams have played
00:37in the last four weeks.
00:39So Will, let's start off with you.
00:40What's your prediction for Vikings Bears?
00:43Yeah, last time these two teams played, I picked a Vikings loss, I think for the first
00:49and only time all season and it almost happened.
00:52The Bears had the ball in overtime with a chance to go win the game after a crazy final
00:57two minutes of regulation.
00:58I'm not doing that again.
01:01I know there's some, there's some talent on the Chicago side of things, but they've lost
01:07seven games in a row.
01:08The Vikings have won six in a row.
01:10This game is not at Soldier Field, it's at US Bank Stadium.
01:14You thought maybe the Bears would get the post-firing Matt Iberfluss morale boost last
01:20week and then they went out and just got absolutely walloped by the 49ers who then just lost to
01:25the Rams last night and might not be a very good team.
01:28They're going to miss the playoffs.
01:29This Bears team is bad.
01:31Thomas Brown has the interim coach, has his hands full.
01:36I do think that, like, I don't know if the Vikings are going to blow them out because
01:40I think Caleb Williams, just specifically in that matchup last time, he did some good
01:44things against this Brian Flores defense for whatever reason.
01:47We'll see some adjustments on both sides having just played three weeks ago.
01:52But yeah, I have the Vikings winning this game.
01:55I think they'll win by two touchdowns or something.
01:58Let's go like 34 to 20, something along those lines.
02:02Yeah.
02:03This is the first time any offense will have a second date with Brian Flores and the Vikings
02:07defense this season.
02:08So that'll be really interesting to watch that chess match unfold.
02:12I got a feeling that Brian Flores is going to win that one.
02:16I think he's going to be able to take everything he saw from the first matchup a handful of
02:19weeks ago and then exploit all of Caleb Williams's weaknesses that he was able to identify.
02:25And then you throw in the crowd noise at US Bank Stadium with the winter warrior white
02:30out.
02:31It's going to be crazy, you know, if it's quiet Vikings crowd, which I do not expect
02:37like it was when the Arizona Cardinals were in town fresh off the holiday.
02:42I think it's going to be too loud for Caleb Williams to really take command of that offense.
02:47I think he's going to really struggle.
02:49I know he played at Ford Field on Thanksgiving Day and that was a loud environment as well.
02:53And the Bears did keep that close after getting down big and they lost 23 to 20.
02:57And if it weren't for a really dumb decision by Matt, he refused to not call a timeout
03:03at the end of the game.
03:04Maybe he's still the coach and maybe this whole story is different, but I think US Bank
03:08Stadium will be the loudest and most intimidating venue that Caleb Williams and this Bears team
03:13has played in yet this season.
03:16And that's no disrespect to Detroit.
03:17I just think Minnesota is going to bring it on a Monday night and not on a holiday week.
03:22I think that really, really mattered in how quiet that Vikings crowd was against Arizona
03:26after the holiday.
03:27And I bet that Detroit crowd wasn't as loud as it can usually get on Thanksgiving Day.
03:32So there's gonna be a lot going against Caleb Williams in this one.
03:36I think the Vikings wind up manhandling the Bears.
03:39I said this, I messaged you Will and I'm like, hey man, if George Kittle and Jawan Jennings
03:44can combine for 240 yards receiving and two touchdowns, there's no telling what Justin
03:50Jefferson, Jordan Addison and TJ Hawkinson are going to do.
03:54And let's just remember this Vikings team is on a pursuit for perfection.
03:59They want to play a perfect football game.
04:01They have not done it yet.
04:03This might be the one where it actually happens because this, this, this version of the purple
04:07and gold seems like they are actually getting to a place where they're, they're closer and
04:12closer to firing on all cylinders the later this season goes.
04:16So I got a feeling this is going to be a near perfect game for Minnesota and I'll go with
04:21the final score of 38 to 17 and I feel like I'm being a little bit generous giving the
04:25Bears 17.
04:26I think you are too.
04:27I mean, you look at how Chicago has performed on the road this season, they're 0-6 away
04:32from Soldier Field.
04:34They've never scored above 20 points away from Soldier Field this season.
04:38They've put up some yards in some of these games when they've left Chicago.
04:42But other than that, I don't think they performed well on the road.
04:44We saw that last week when they got walloped by the 49ers who just looked pretty bad last
04:50night against the Rams.
04:51I think this ends up being a 28-12 Vikings victory.
04:55I think Brian Flores, a lot of field goals for the, for the Bears.
04:59I don't think they score a touchdown.
05:00I think it's just four field goals for them and they might miss a couple in there because
05:03they're just going to struggle to score against this Brian Flores defense that has given up
05:08a lot of yards lately.
05:09But the points, they've done a pretty good job of holding the points back from teams.
05:14So I think that'll come into play again this Monday night on ESPN.
05:18Boys, how does Sam...
05:19He could also get a touchdown, a field goal, and a safety to get to 12 points.
05:23Look at you, just doing the math all right on the fly.
05:25I bet you're good at Legos.
05:27Just in case you guys didn't know.
05:29Maybe that'll be how it happens.
05:31Do you like Legos?
05:33I did like Legos about like 20 years ago.
05:37You know who likes Legos?
05:38Jonathan.
05:40He's got like, he's got adult Legos all over.
05:41He's surrounded by them.
05:42I knew he'd be able to turn around and get one.
05:44Watch this.
05:45Look at that.
05:46That's a Lego thing?
05:47That's impressive.
05:48This is a Lego Lewis Hamilton F1 car.
05:53Wow.
05:54I have a Lego Bumblebee from Transformers.
05:58Oh my God, we are learning a lot right now.
06:01And if I pick up my camera, Adam will really appreciate this one, Adam and our boss.
06:07Lego Old Trafford, Manchester United Stadium.
06:09Oh, nice.
06:10Nice.
06:11All right.
06:12Besides the point, besides the Legos, how does Sam Darnold pick up where he left off
06:18last weekend where he threw five touchdown passes and had the best game of his career?
06:21What do we expect from him going up against Chicago defense for the second time this season,
06:26Will?
06:27Yeah, Darnold had, it was a good game.
06:30It was part of this, I think it sparked kind of this stretch of games here that he's
06:37been really, really effective.
06:38He's been taking care of the ball.
06:41He just, you know, it wasn't his best game for parts of it, but then when the Vikings
06:45needed it, he stepped up in overtime, led the game winning drive, did some good things
06:52in the second half.
06:54The thing I'm curious about is how the Bears defend the Vikings' offensive weapons.
07:01Because last time these two teams played, they really sold out to take Justin Jefferson
07:05out of the game.
07:07And they did that.
07:08He had one catch for seven yards in regulation, he had a 20-yard grab in overtime to prevent
07:14it from being the worst game of his career by yardage.
07:18But that meant Jordan Addison had 162 yards and a touchdown, TJ Hockinson had 114 yards,
07:25most of it coming in the fourth quarter in OT.
07:28Aaron Jones had a big game after an early fumble, he got in the end zone.
07:32So I'm curious to see if they run back that make-anybody-else-beat-us approach.
07:39Because everybody else did beat him last time, but then again, you could say that it worked
07:42in the sense that they were in the game in overtime.
07:46Or do they play the Vikings a little more straight up and Justin Jefferson has a chance
07:51to have a bigger game?
07:52I don't think the Bears will hold Justin Jefferson, no matter what they do, below 30 yards again.
07:58This could be another spot where we continue to see more Jordan Addison, more TJ Hockinson.
08:04The Vikings want to lean on Aaron Jones in the run game.
08:07They have the weapons, with the way Sam Darnold is playing, to do a lot of things against
08:12a Bears defense that just got shredded by the 49ers last week.
08:16And then on the other side of the ball, the Bears had done some good things recently with
08:21Caleb Williams, and then last week they were held to 170 total yards by the 49ers.
08:26Williams was sacked seven times.
08:29So I'm looking for Brian Flores to turn up the heat on that side of things and make some
08:33adjustments from last game.
08:35I also think that Kevin O'Connell is going to turn up the heat on offense and not take
08:39the foot off the gas.
08:40He kind of did that in the fourth quarter against the Bears the first time around.
08:44They got into the red zone, they had a nice cushion, and they decided to just run the
08:49ball.
08:50First and ten from the 16.
08:51Run.
08:52Second down.
08:53Run.
08:54Third down.
08:55Run that gets no gain.
08:56They end up kicking a field goal with John Parker Romo, and that just kind of stalled
09:02things out.
09:03I felt like they could have been in attack mode late in that game.
09:07Put seven on the board, and then they really don't have to worry about any of these crazy
09:11late game rallies.
09:13That field goal did put them up 27 to 14, so it shouldn't have been an issue.
09:19Or 27 to 17, I should say.
09:21It shouldn't have been an issue.
09:2216.
09:23It was for obvious reasons, but I got a feeling the Vikings are going to kind of go for hay
09:29this game and just kind of fire bullets all over the field.
09:33I wouldn't be shocked if Donald throws for four touchdowns, maybe five again this week.
09:37I just think this Vikings offense is humming, and they're ready for some more damage in
09:42this game.
09:43Sam Donald's a confident man.
09:45He's a different man.
09:46Justin Jefferson was on with Rich Eisen earlier this week, and he said something is different
09:50about him, and it is that confidence and that swagger that is starting to come out.
09:55The leadership qualities are really starting to rise as well.
09:59It's like he now believes in himself, and I've said this before, and I think it's true.
10:04I think everybody, us included, everyone out there, and even Sam Donald, had to see it
10:10to actually believe it.
10:12Like Donald used to think he was the dog, right?
10:14He was the man at USC, and then he has to go through all these growing pains in the
10:18NFL, and he probably really began to doubt himself, and now here we are.
10:23He's surrounded by a great supporting cast, and all of a sudden, he's the man again, and
10:28he has 13 games of evidence to say that this is not a fluke.
10:32You have to believe it now, and I believe he believes it, and I think that as long as
10:36he's a believer, this team is extremely dangerous, and he can go out there and fire some darts.
10:41I think the team is feeding off of that, too.
10:46I asked Aaron Jones this last week after the game, like, is everybody in the locker room
10:50kind of sensing that confidence and beating off of it, and he said, yeah, absolutely.
10:56You can tell when your quarterback's playing the way he's playing and carrying himself,
11:01I think, the way he's carrying himself.
11:03You get the feeling that even, he's going to throw another interception at some point
11:06this year.
11:07It could happen on Monday night.
11:08You get the feeling, even if that happens, he's just going to shake it off and keep playing
11:12and keep being aggressive downfield.
11:14He's not in a position where one interception could, you know, send his mental state out
11:21of whack again, and I just don't think that's going to happen, and yeah, he has a chance
11:26here if he has a 100-plus passer rating in three of the last four games to tie Aaron
11:34Rogers for the all-time record of the most games with a 100 passer rating in NFL history,
11:39which is just remarkable, but yeah, I think Don will play well again.
11:44I think the Vikings are going to look very crisp in these new winter warrior, white-out
11:49uniforms.
11:50I think the crowd is going to be electric in prime time, and it's an 11-2 team.
11:55People are fired up about this team.
11:57If the Lions happen to lose to the Bills on Sunday, which we'll see, the Vikings will
12:02have a chance to control their own destiny, and the schedule's tough after this week,
12:07but I mean, this is a really good team right now, so I think it should be fun on Monday
12:11night.
12:12The Lions are 100% losing to the Bills.
12:15That's that 325 kickoff.
12:17The Bills are coming in there.
12:18They're on a mission to prove something.
12:20I don't care if it's in Detroit.
12:22The Bills are going to send a message to the NFL.
12:26I will believe it when I see it with the Lions losing a football game, because it just hasn't
12:30happened in three months, but we'll see.
12:34This is the best opportunity the Vikings have to make up that game in the standings this
12:40week.
12:41Last question for you guys.
12:42Tuesday morning, when we're talking again, the Vikings have a win under their belt.
12:47What do you think, at that point, their possible record is over the final three games?
12:52We know how tough those final three games are at Seattle, hosting the Packers, and then
12:56back at the Lions final week of the season.
12:59If they win on Sunday, what's your prediction for the final three games, their record?
13:03Yeah, I think, I mean, if you just look at it from the final four, I do think, I think
13:08we're all in agreement that they win this game.
13:10I was asked this, like, do you think they go two and two over the final four?
13:14And I think that's maybe the baseline, and I certainly don't think they're going to go
13:19one and three or anything like that.
13:21I just, I feel like this team might find a way to go three and one down the stretch here.
13:29And whether that means, you know, that would mean either winning at Seattle or at Detroit,
13:35and it would mean beating Green Bay at home, which will be tough.
13:39But the way they're playing right now, both sides of the ball, I don't know.
13:42Kevin O'Connell, you got, it has to start this week.
13:46That's all they're thinking about right now.
13:47You have to win this game.
13:48It's as much of a must-win for an 11-win team as you can have.
13:52But after that, I just, I feel like the vibes have been so good here that they're going
13:57to find a way to win two of the last three.
14:01I wouldn't be shocked if they go four and O over these final four weeks.
14:05I mean, they're good enough to do it.
14:06We already know that.
14:07We already know they can play with Detroit.
14:09They can play with anybody.
14:10Yeah.
14:11Yeah.
14:12I mean, that game is going to be in Detroit in week 18.
14:13You know, the Seattle game is going to be tough.
14:14Anybody going to Seattle is going to have a tough time, but I think the Vikings are
14:17just that much better than the Seahawks.
14:21You know, if there is a team that can expose some weaknesses, though, it's a good passing
14:25attack in Seattle with all those dangerous weapons.
14:27So if Stephon Gilmore is not back, you know, next week for that one, that could be challenging.
14:32But I don't think Green Bay is going to come into the house of the purple and golden win.
14:37I mean, I think that week 18 game is is going to be monumental.
14:40I think I think it's going to matter.
14:42I think it's actually going to settle the NFC North and the number one seed in the NFC.
14:47That's going to be really challenging to go into Detroit and take one there.
14:51But I think this team is very capable of it.
14:53If I had to make a bet here, I would say the Vikings do go three and one down the stretch,
14:58though, and they finish 14 and three as the five seed, which would suck.
15:03Yeah, absolutely.
15:06They need they need Ivan Pace Jr. back for that.
15:09That Lions game for sure.
15:11With that running attack that they have.
15:13But yeah, it's going to be fun here.
15:15Absolutely.
15:16Will be fun to watch and track throughout the rest of this final game, this final stretch
15:21into the playoffs.
15:22You can go read all of our work over at Vikings on a site as well as twins, Timberwolves and
15:26Gophers on a site as well.
15:28Looking forward to it, guys.
15:29Minnesota sports fans.
15:30Be sure to click subscribe on the YouTube channel does help us get found also lets you
15:34get notified every time we post a new video here on the channel.
15:37We'll talk to you guys next week, coming up Monday for another top sports.