Bears Have Plenty to Prove in Showdown with Vikings
The Chicago Bears are about to find out whether one win can transform an entire team and season.
It's a lot to ask from one 36-7 victory over the struggling Houston Texans, but the rest of this season means virtually nothing if the Bears (6-7) fail to follow up on the end of their six-game losing streak by building a winning streak at Minnesota Sunday against the Vikings (6-7).
"I think that you look at both of our records, you look at where we're at right now, you look at the playoff scenario and without a doubt it's a big-time game," Bears coach Matt Nagy said.
Desperation game probably provides a more accurate description than big-time game.
A win lets the Bears go to 7-7 and, at worst, stay on the heels of the Arizona Cardinals for the last NFC wild-card berth. A loss leaves them counting days until mathematical elimination and possibly even regime change for coaches, the general manager and even their quarterback.
A similar playoff scenario applies to the Vikings in this case, and everything also depends for both teams on whether Arizona can slip up at least once more.
In the Vikings' case, a run toward a playoff berth began building after six weeks. For the Bears, it's only been a week, and all the optimism stems from quarterback Mitchell Trubisky's improvement in an offensive approach more suited to his talents.
"It was a struggle there for a while, but for different reasons, we've ended up feeling pretty good about where we're at right now as an offense," Nagy said.
Trubisky has a passer rating of 100.02 and seven touchdowns to go with two interceptions since returning as starter. A faster pace, a better running game and more passes to David Montgomery and Cole Kmet opened up the attack.
"You just gotta get the ball to your playmakers out in space and stretch the field horizontally and vertically but also keeping the defense off balance, and I think the change in tempo really helps this offense," Trubisky said. "I think moving the pocket really helps me and helps our offensive line. And also helps create run lanes."
The run will be important against the Vikings, who have allowed at least 96 yards rushing to every opponent except one. That was the Bears, in the first game between the teams when they had 41 yards with Cordarrelle Patterson running behind an offensive line stocked with 80% different personnel than now.
"I think our line is playing really well, I think we're able to create some explosives in the run game and the pass game," wide receiver Allen Robinson said. "I think that we've been better in the red zone. I think we also have again created pluses on first and second down, so I think that's the main things."
Gains on first and second downs are huge because of Minnesota's traditional dominance on third downs.
"The last few games it has been good on offense, which I think helped out our defense and now our defense doesn't feel like they have to keep a team under 15-18 points and that just helps your confidence in general," Nagy said.
The offense only generated six points in an earlier 19-13 loss to Minnesota, a touchdown coming from Patterson's 104-yard kick return.
For two straight games after that the Bears' defense appeared in a funk by allowing 41 and 34 to Green Bay and Detroit. Allowing Detroit 400 yards passing, in particular, ate at them.
"It was just one of those days where we just felt like we didn't play well at all and you know we came back at practice and we got on each other there and we realized like we had to play our best way of football if we have any chance of making it to the playoffs," defensive lineman Bilal Nichols said.
They came back by bottling up Deshaun Watson and the second-ranked Texans.
However, Houston is a one-dimensional offense. The Bears defense won't show it's truly back until doing this against Dalvin Cook, Justin Jefferson, Kirk Cousins and a balanced Vikings attack.
With the health ofn starting cornerback Jaylon Johnson in question, and slot cornerback Buster Skrine out, the Bears need to rely heavily on a front seven that carried them last week after two games of backpedaling.
"Those guys, they found their stride," Bears safety Tashaun Gipson said. 'Whatever slump defensively that we may have been in, I think they turned the page over that to rush and cover, to collectively do that together. It's what Chicago football, Chicago defense is all about. Those guys are catching their stride at the perfect time.
"Why not put the string together right now at the most pivotal time of the season?"
It's what all Bears have to count on happening against the Vikings.
A season hinges on it.
Twitter: BearDigest@BearsOnMaven
