Minnesota Vikings: 4 steps to beating the Chicago Bears
By Luke Sims
Dec 28, 2014; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Charles Johnson (12) gets tackled in the second quarter from the Chicago Bears linebacker Shea McClellin (50) at TCF Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports
The Minnesota Vikings (4-2) take on the Chicago Bears (2-4) in the second week of back to back NFC North challenges. Having defeated the Detroit Lions (1-6) in Week 7 last week, the Vikings are hoping to take a definitive step ahead of the cellar-dwellers of the NFC North.
By beating the hapless Bears, the Vikings will all but ensure they will be second at worst in the division by the end of the season. While this is the first game against the Bears for the season, the Bears will fall in a deep hole at 2-5 with a loss to the Vikings while the Vikes would rise to 5-2.
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Even more than the Lions, the Bears are struggling to right a ship that is taking on more and more water each and every week. As general manager Ryan Pace jettisons major players like Jared Allen in favor of focusing on a future rebuild, the Bears are clearly gearing up for competition in the future, not today.
That gives the Minnesota Vikings, who are competing to be in the playoffs right now, an edge over the Bears.
While it is unlikely that the Chicago Bears will simply roll over for the Vikings (divisional contests can always be a bit of a toss up), the way the organizations are preparing certainly seems to favor the Vikes. The Bears, with all their dysfunction, don’t appear to be as tough an out as the Lions – especially considering a lack of Calvin Johnson and Matt Stafford – but the Vikings cannot enter this game unprepared or risk it becoming a classic trap game in Chicago.
Here are four steps to beating the Chicago Bears.
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