How Bears Get an Upper Hand on Vikings

Teams get type cast in the NFL like Hollywood actors playing the same role over and over again.

The Bears are facing one Monday night thanks to Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores

The Vikings blitz. They'll keep blitzing. Beat the blitz and they'll blitz even more.

Plenty of blitz figures get tossed around on different websites but Sportradar has tracked the Vikings at 47.4% blitzes. They're blitzing almost every other down.

That's No. 1 in the NFL and it's not even close. Second-most belongs to the Giants at 40.1%.

"Locked in and getting the ball out fast when we need to when they do bring that pressure, it's gonna be key," Bears quarterback Justin Fields said. "When they do bring pressure, the O-line picking it up everything starts up front. Once we get the protection and everything together, we'll be good."

Not merely handling the blitz but doing something to punish the Vikings for using it could be the most critical aspect of this game for the Bears.

1. Attack the Blitz

They need a variety of plays designed to attack the blitz for big plays every time they face one. The Vikings give teams opportunities.

Since Week 8, the Bears have given up pressures on only 20.3% of plays, fifth best pass protection in the league. The Vikings, meanwhile, have pressured opposing QBs on just 16.6% of passing plays since Week 8—the second-lowest percentage in NFL. If the Vikings can't get to a QB—like they haven't since Week 8—and they're gambling so much to do it, then they should be susceptible to big plays.

The Bears started their last game by trying to throw a pass to fullback Khari Blasingame split wide to catch the Vikings blitzing. It didn't work. They had the right idea but poor execution.

"I was about to throw it to KB, but I felt like the corner wasn't threatened by KB's speed," Fields said. "Every time you put a running back, fullback or a tight end out at No. 1 over a corner, he's not gonna think you're going deep on him. I just felt him sitting on the route, so I didn't want to potentially throw a pick on the first play of the game. Learning from that I just gotta sail it over his head and move onto second and 10."

Instead, Fields took a sack.

They depth of attack to go after the blitz. They need options. The game plan needs variety and deception. It could be quick slants, drag routes, screens of all types and even quick-hitting run plays. Or it could be short flips in the flat. They have to make Minnesota pay for its blitzes.

2. Clamp Down

Much really has changed with Minnesota's offense since the last time the Bears played the Vikings, even though coach Matt Eberflus says it's basically the same look. Without Cousins, the timing and in-pocket aspect of the offense has yielded more to Joshua Dobbs holding onto the ball and moving around looking for an open receiver. He'll sometimes get hit, escape and throw.

In coverage, the Bears need to be quick out of their zone to tack onto receivers when needed. The rush men also need to wrap up when possible. The game with Tampa Bay should have taught them this much, as they repeatedly hit Baker Mayfield or trapped him, only to let him escape and run or throw for yards.

3. Draw a Line Earlier

At some point during drives on defense, the Bears become more aggressive in their coverage. They stop playing back in their shell, stop allowing the catch underneath and decide it's getting too close to scoring position to simply let receivers catch it before defenders rally to the ball. Coverage tightens. It all needs to start farther upfield in this game rather than dropping deep and letting Minnesota catch and drive.

They can't allow Minnesota to get near the red zone.

The Bears have allowed 18 touchdown passes in the red zone, the most in the NFL. The Vikings are tied for most TD passes this year with 22. The more you play prevent-style defense, the more chances Minnesota has to drive to the red zone and the Vikings are not accepting field goals. They are throwing into the end zone and scoring, especially against this Bears secondary. The Bears are showing they'll botch up the coverage and fail to stop it.

This is a game that the Bears must play between the 20s on defense. Allowing field goals is still better than touchdowns and the Bears showed last week they have firepower sufficient to win games when they limit opponents.

The Vikings are throwing to tight ends 39% of the time since Week 8, the highest amount in the NFL. They're going to look for those easy throws over the middle to tight ends against the soft zone and keep moving. If the Bears are playing back all day, they're going to allow those drives into scoring position, and they'll give up their customary touchdowns.

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