Vikings-Bears Preview: Three Big Storylines Ahead of NFC North Showdown

The 1-4 Vikings are headed to Chicago this weekend to open the NFC North portion of their schedule with a game against the 1-4 Bears on Sunday. Can you feel the excitement, folks? The winner of this game will feel like they have a chance to creep back into the playoff picture, even if there will still be a long ways to go. The loser will be all alone in the divisional cellar, likely turning their focus towards April's draft.

Here are three big storylines ahead of this matchup at Soldier Field.

What will life without Jefferson look like?

The Vikings will be playing their first game without superstar Justin Jefferson since drafting him in 2020. He's on injured reserve with a hamstring strain, meaning he'll miss at least four weeks (and possibly more). Kevin O'Connell admitted this week that the Vikings will have to modify their offense a bit, given how much everything they did was built around Jefferson and the attention he draws on a weekly basis.

I'd expect an attempt to become more balanced; look for the Vikings to establish their running game early with Alexander Mattison and some Cam Akers mixed in. Even without Jefferson, Kirk Cousins still has the weapons to move the ball through the air against a porous Bears defense. T.J. Hockenson, K.J. Osborn, and rookie Jordan Addison figure to be the three leading target-getters in Chicago, provided Addison is able to play through a minor ankle injury. Assuming he does play, it's going to be exciting to see what Addison can do as a featured option in this offense.

It's worth noting that although the Bears' defense has really struggled so far, they're expected to get three key pieces of their secondary — Jaylon Johnson, Kyler Gordon, and Eddie Jackson — back from injury this week.

Can Minnesota slow down Fields and Moore?

Last week's 40-20 win over the Commanders was a massive breakout game for both Justin Fields and DJ Moore. Fields threw for 282 yards and four touchdowns, with a ridiculous 230 of those yards — and three of the scores — going to Moore, the Bears' dangerous No. 1 receiver. Somehow, Moore was the only WR to catch a pass from Fields in that game; tight ends Cole Kmet and Robert Tonyan were the two other Bears players with receptions. Chicago also ran for 178 yards in its first win of the season, including 57 from Fields.

The challenge for Brian Flores and the Vikings' defense this week is keeping Moore contained one week after he had four catches go for at least 30 yards, including two gains of 55-plus. Byron Murphy Jr. figures to see that assignment quite a bit. The most blitz-heavy team in the NFL will look to apply pressure on Fields and not let him escape the pocket with his legs. When Fields is playing with confidence, he has dangerous dual-threat ability. At the same time, his track record suggests he can be baited or flustered into making some mistakes.

Which franchise is in the best position moving forward?

With these two teams meeting for the first time in 2023, it's fascinating to think about which one appears to have a brighter future. Following the 2021 season, both franchises fired their head coach and general manager. Ryan Poles was a top candidate for both GM openings and ended up being hired by the Bears, then paired with HC Matt Eberflus. The Vikings went with Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and Kevin O'Connell.

As you know, the 2022 seasons went very differently for the two division rivals. The Vikings went 13-4 and won the NFC North, but lost in the first round and then moved on from a bunch of expensive veterans this offseason. The Bears went 3-14 and earned the No. 1 overall pick, which they traded to the Panthers for DJ Moore, the 9th pick (which turned into Darnell Wright after a swap with the Eagles), Carolina's 2024 first, and multiple seconds.

Now both teams find themself at 1-4 this season. The Vikings were obvious candidates for negative regression, but the way in which they've lost four one-score games has been hard to fathom. The Bears got off to a horribly disappointing start that included lots of poor play from Fields, but they finally got a big win last week.

The Bears are still early-ish in a rebuild. They could have two of the top picks in next year's draft, thanks to Carolina currently being the only winless team in the league. The Vikings could also have a top pick, though the presence of Kirk Cousins and other talented players suggests they'll probably end up winning six or seven games...unless they become sellers before the trade deadline. Cousins is a free agent after this year, so the Vikings have a looming decision at quarterback. The Bears might also have a QB decision to make if Fields doesn't ball out over the rest of this season and they're in position to land someone like Caleb Williams or Drake Maye.

It's all quite interesting. And the subplot of this week's game is that while both teams will be going all-out in pursuit of a victory, the loser will benefit in the draft order.

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