Minnesota Vikings vs. Chicago Bears
Coming off their first lost of the season to the Philadelphia Eagles, the Minnesota Vikings head a place that has been relatively unkind to the men in purple the past decade. Minnesota hadn’t won in Soldier Field versus the Chicago Bears in three years up until last season, with Brett Favre running the show under Brad Childress as head coach.
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The Bears welcome the return of quarterback, Jay Cutler, on Monday Night Football. Well, “welcome” may not be the exact term. Maybe Bears fans just have to acknowledge his return, knowing they’d be in lesser hands under third stringer Matt Barkley.
Chicago is 1-6 on the season, bruised and battered, yearning for the bye week following their Monday Night match up on Halloween versus a division rival.
On the other side of the ball, the Minnesota Vikings have shown the league that their recipe of success can be broken and it was completely shattered by the Philadelphia Eagles last Sunday. Nothing would mean more to the Bears then upsetting the division leading Vikings heading into their bye; in order to establish their dominance on the NFC North, Minnesota must make a statement on nationalized television.
Keys to Victory
For Chicago, Jay Cutler is kind of a wildcard they can use to their advantage. The public has no idea exactly how healthy he is, nor does the media, and possibly many working for the Bears themselves have no clue, that’s just how head coach John Fox works.
The Bears have been league average defensively, but did show an improved pass rush on Aaron Rodgers in the first half before the former MVP lit them up in the second half. Chicago also has the advantage of resting for 11 days before this game takes place, somewhat of a mini bye week before their actual bye.
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Offensively Alshon Jeffrey has been an Achilles heel to Minnesota practically every time these two teams meet. Minnesota has one of the best defenses in the NFL and has done an outstanding job of negating big plays, but what does Chicago have to lose? If they lose this game they might as well call it a season, Chicago must give their playmakers a chance to make plays.
Minnesota was the league staple of a complete football team before being ravaged by the Eagles. Are they now exposed? Or was it just a let down after a bye week? Sam Bradford reverted back to his old ways turning the ball over after not having turned the ball over in his previous four games. Minnesota’s special teams were outstanding through five games, then allowed a kick return for a touchdown and fumbled a punt return. It was just a very uncharacteristic game from a Mike Zimmer team.
Even though the Vikings are on the road, fans shouldn’t expect to see yet another sloppy game in back to back performances. With four former head coaches on this Vikings coaching staff, surely many areas will get fixed, while hopefully the offensive line responds after being called ‘soft’ by their head coach.
As most of the games have gone, Minnesota’s defense will be key to how successful they are in Soldier Field. Cutler is prone to making mistakes, and hasn’t played a game in weeks; it wouldn’t surprise us one bit if Zimmer dialed up the heat early to force Cutler’s hand.
Odds
Point Spread: Minnesota -5.5
Moneyline: Minnesota -222, Chicago +184
Over/Under: 41
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Prediction
No matter the rest time, the return of Cutler, nor the excruciating collapse of the Vikings in their last game, this is still Minnesota’s game to lose. Instead of allowing a young stud like Jordan Howard tote the rock, Chicago has confusingly gone into a committee setup, their weapons on the outside are limited, and Chicago’s offensive line is all sorts of banged up. Minnesota will pull out all the stops on defense and special teams, yet again bailing out the offense.
Pick: Minnesota Vikings: 24, Chicago Bears: 17