Where Vikings Can Give the Bears Fits

The Bears will play their pass coverage more honestly in Sunday's game than they have in the past against the Minnesota Vikings.

Of this there is no doubt.

Whether it works could hinge upon how well they keep rookie receiver Jordan Addison in check, or tight end T.J. Hockenson.

"I saw Jordan when he was in high school because at that time I was in Maryland as the D-coordinator," Bears pass defense coordinator Jon Hoke ssaid. "And he's a talented football player. He has very good instincts. He's got deep speed. He's very good in and out of the break because he has good foot quickness, you know."

The Bears normally liked to cheat their coverage to the side of the field where Justin Jefferson is, although it often hasn't helped. Now with Jefferson out injured it's more of a straight-up defensive approach.

"So even though that you're going to tilt your coverage towards a guy, that means everybody else still has to do their job at a very high level," Hoke said. "You;ve still go to rush the passer. You've still got to cover their other guys. They have other receivers that are very capable. So it may change your game plan from the standpoint where you don't have to focus on one guy but you still got to play 11 guys. And football's not going to change."

Hoke went through this plenty in his stint with the Bears under coach Lovie Smith in a scheme much like this one.

"It's 11 guys doing their job and I can remember when Charles (Tillman) would go against Megatron (Calvin Johnson) in Detroit," Hoke said. "Well, it was never just that matchup. It's 11 guys playing 11 guys and playing at an extremely high level."

The Bears will have plenty of reasons to be playing 11-man football on both sides of the ball considering how effective Minnesota quarterback Kirk Cousins has been against them in recent games and how well Danielle Hunter has rushed the passer against them.

Here are the main Viking threats to concern the Bears in Week 6.

1. QB Kirk Cousins

He's second in the league in passing yards despite being seventh in percentage of plays he's been pressured. Cousins can't be allowed to stand back in the pocket and pick away at the zone coverage the Bears want to play because he'd like to do exactly that.

Cousins started off with back-to-back passer ratings in the 100s but slid back to 97.7 in Week 3, 80.7 against Carolina and 92.9 last week in the 27-20 loss to the Panthers. The Barrington, IL native has a 95.8 passer rating against the Bears since going to the Vikings, with 14 TDs, six interceptions and 2,048 yards (201 of 293). The best way to combat Cousins is with a tremendous four-man pass rush. Where the Bears are going to come up with that is anyone's guess.

2. TE T.J. Hockenson

He already has 30 receptions but has been confined to shorter yardage. His current rate of 8.5 yards a catch would be a career low if he had that at season's end. He's averaging only 8.6 per catch while with the Vikings. That all might change now without Jefferson available. Hockenson might become one of the downfield targets. Since he has been with the Vikings he has not been that player, though. The Bears have a good weapon for combatting a 6-5, 248-pound tight end with their own 6-5, 250-pound middle linebacker Tremaine Edmunds.

3. DE Danielle Hunter

Hunter has six of the 13 Vikings sacks this year. He has never had much success against the Bears as a pass rusher with three of his four career sacks in 14 games coming during the start of the John Fox coaching era. He has had an impact as a run stopper with 10 tackles for loss. Hunter could come off either side but considering the left tackle is backup Larry Borom, therre's a far greater likelihood the Vikings would want him matched up on that side. Hunter's all-around game has been on display so far this year with nine tackles for loss already. The entire rest of the Vikings defense has only 11.

4. WR Jordan Addison

He's been fine playing the complementary role to Jefferson with 19 receptions and three TDs but it can be entirely different as the lead receiver. The Vikings have tried using him in the slot and maybe now he would go outside more but at 5-11, 175, he's not built for the vertical game as much as he is the speed game and sharp route running.

5. LT Christian Darrisaw

Graded by Pro Football Focus the fourth-best tackle overall and the fifth-best pass blocker, the Vikings' left tackle is having another strong year after he had the second-best Pro Football Focus grade among tackles last season, behind only Trent Williams. The Bears edge rush started showing signs of life last week but doing against Darrisaw and also right tackle Brian O'Neill, a former Pro Bowl player and PFF's sixth-ranked tackle, will be difficult. If ever the Bears needed an interior pass rush this is the week.

6. S Harrison Smith

It wouldn't be a Vikings defense unless the Bears were worrying about what the veteran safety is doing. Despite being 34 years old, Smith has taken to Brian Flores' blitz-heavy scheme with three sacks in five games. He also has four QB hits and 38 tackles. If the Vikings send a 34-year-old safety on blitzes after Justin Fields, it might be an invitation to big plays in the scrambling game or screen game.

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