Chicago Bears: 5 X-factors for beating the Vikings in Week 10

4. Darnell Mooney, WR

Robinson needs some help. He’s been the most reliable receiver on the roster and all the other receivers have moments, but none have been consistent enough.

One receiver who has been close to making big plays is rookie Darnell Mooney. Mooney was the Bears’ fifth-round pick in this year’s draft. He’s been everything Chicago expected from him. He has great speed, runs good routes, and has good hands.

Head coach Matt Nagy has tried to get the ball into Mooney’s hands. He is a threat to break a big play at any moment. So far this season, he has 31 catches for 348 yards and 2 touchdowns. He averages 11.2 yards per catch.

Mooney surpassed Anthony Miller on the number of snaps. He’s earned Foles’ confidence. The only problem is that they’ve just been a little off in connecting, especially on long passes. He had a career-high 11 targets last week, but only caught 5 passes for 43 yards. The week before, he had 6 targets, catching 5, for 69 yards and a touchdown.

Daniel Jeremiah, NFL.com’s NFL analyst, recently came out with his midseason rookie rankings. He has Mooney at 24 (also, he has Jaylon Johnson 15th). This is what he said about Mooney.

"Mooney, a fifth-round pick, is an explosive deep threat for the Bears. I see some similarities to DeSean Jackson in his play."

This could be the breakout game for Mooney. As mentioned before, the Vikings struggle against the pass. They might send attention to Robinson’s way and dare Mooney to beat them. He just might do that. He could blow past the slow Vikings secondary and cause some serious damage. If he does, the Bears could see an end to their losing streak.