Three Key Questions That Will Determine Bears-Vikings

Tonight's the night where we find out if the Vikings are serious about this whole turnaround thing. Their faint playoff hopes are on the line in a Monday Night Football matchup with the struggling Bears, and we should know by the end of the night whether or not the Vikings have a chance to reach the postseason in 2020.

On paper, this seems like a very winnable game. The Vikings have won two in a row, while the Bears have dropped three in a row and look completely lost on offense. The problem is that history isn't on Minnesota's side. The Vikings have lost 16 of their last 19 games at Soldier Field and Kirk Cousins is 0-9 as a starter when playing on Monday night. Those stats shouldn't necessarily mean much when it comes to this specific game, but they're impossible to ignore.

It all makes for an interesting, difficult-to-predict game in front of a national audience. The safest bet is that this is a close, low-scoring contest, but anything and everything is on the table.

Here are three key questions that will determine the winner of this one.

Can the Vikings start fast?

Getting out to an early lead will be absolutely crucial for the Vikings, who failed to do so in their last two losses at Soldier Field. In 2018, they fell behind 14-0 before eventually falling 25-20. Last season, they trailed 16-0 after three quarters and barely avoided being shut out.

If the Vikings fall behind in Chicago for a third straight year, they'll be playing right into their opponent's hands. The Bears' best shot at winning this game is to get a dominant performance from their front seven, limiting Dalvin Cook and harassing Cousins into making mistakes. That becomes much easier if Chicago is leading and the Vikings start getting into more and more obvious passing situations.

"Football’s such a game of momentum that when you can get that momentum early by scoring points and getting a lead, it really helps," Cousins said. "I think our defense plays well when we have leads, also."

If the Vikings can strike first and get in front, they'll be able to ride Cook and potentially create some big defensive plays against Nick Foles. If they fall behind, Khalil Mack and Akiem Hicks become even more dangerous. Plus, you have to wonder if things like the Vikings' struggles in Chicago and Cousins' MNF record would start to creep into players' heads if the Bears establish an early lead.

"Starting fast" applies to the scoreboard, but on a more micro level, it applies to each set of downs the Vikings have on offense. They need to find ways to stay on schedule, create big plays on early downs, and avoid the third-and-longs where Mack is such a menace. That's easier said than done against a Bears defense that is second in the NFL in forcing three-and-outs.

"We got behind the 8-ball on some third downs," offensive coordinator Gary Kubiak said about the Vikings' ugly loss in Chicago last year."You start holding the ball against this team and bad things happen.”

Will a new play-caller spark the Bears offense?

Bears coach Matt Nagy made an interesting move this week, surrendering play-calling duties to offensive coordinator Bill Lazor. On the backs of three straight losses in which his team averaged fewer than 17 points per game, this feels like a desperation move from Nagy. But it's also a move that could theoretically spark the Bears' offense, similar to the way the Falcons blew out the Vikings in their first game under interim coach Raheem Morris.

It's hard to imagine that it'll make things worse. The Bears are 28th in offensive DVOA and 31st in yards per play, and Nagy's play-calling was a source of great frustration for many in the Chicago area. Foles and the offensive line also deserve plenty of blame for the Bears' inability to put up points, but Nagy wasn't putting his players in the best positions to succeed.

Lazor hasn't called plays since he was the Bengals' offensive coordinator in 2017 and 2018.

“It’s a little bit of an unknown, but we obviously went back and looked at when he was in Cincinnati," Mike Zimmer said. "I think it’s tough to just change everything. The tendencies might change a little bit, but during the course of the game you kind of just go with what you feel, anyway.”

Lazor unlocking a spark in the Bears' offense would be bad news for the Vikings. However, if Minnesota's defensive front can take advantage of a weak offensive line and put a lot of pressure on Foles, it might not matter who's calling plays.

Is this the night Kirk Cousins finally ends the MNF streak?

Cousins' 0-9 record on Monday Night Football will continue to be brought up every single year until he either snaps that winless streak or is no longer an NFL starting quarterback. This article won't be the last time you hear about it today, that's for sure.

If Cousins is sick of that narrative, it's time for him to go out and end it. That won't be easy against an excellent Bears defense, but that's life in the NFL.

The Vikings need Cousins to rise to the occasion because they probably won't be able to just ride Cook like they have over the past two games. The Bears have an outstanding front seven and will surely be focused on doing whatever they can to limit the Vikings' star running back. That means Cousins is going to have to make plays through the air, sometimes with pressure bearing down on him.

If Cousins plays well in this game, it's hard to see how the Vikings lose. But given his struggles against this Bears defense in the past, that's a big if.

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