Rhodes Closed wrote: ↑Thu Nov 12, 2020 1:00 pm
Howdy ho, fellas. Let's talk a little about the Bears and what the Vikings can do to overcome the "vaunted" one-man defense of Khalil Mack.
1.) Offensive Line - The offensive line is going to need to continue to show the progression is has hinted at the last two weeks if the Vikings offense is going to stand a chance; unlike the Packers and Lions, there are some good rushers and some great tacklers on the Bears defense. The first step is to work on negating their presence on the run and preventing the pass rush from getting to Kirk too often.
2.) Dalvin Cook - We may have to rely on Dalvin Cook quite a bit this game, and why not... He currently leads the league in points-- all points, kicking, rushing, receiving -- and is the leading rusher in most categories. I get the feeling the Bears defense will snap under the strain of attempting to contain Dalvin Cook. As it stands, the Bears defense is 14th in Rushing Yards Per Game, 6th in Rushing TDs Per Game (The Minnesota Vikings Defense is tied at #1 with SF, NO, ARI, and PITT), and 11th in Rushing First Downs Per Game. While the Bears defense did well against Derrick Henry, I believe Dalvin Cook is going to bring a whole new ball game to the defense and beat them down and drink the blood of his enemies.
3.) Thielen & Jefferson - Cousins is going to need to find these two men open on the field if he can survive the pass-rush long enough. The Front 7 of the Bears defense is great, but once you get further back, it becomes a little easier. Yes, Chicago has the #7 Passing defense, but that may have more to do with the ability of their rush than their defensive backs. I don't believe that Kirk has to ball out against the Bears, but I do believe he needs to play a decent part in pressing the attack. Minimize mistakes, and throw to your best receivers, or screens to Cook.
4.) Defense - The Vikings Defense is going to need to step up big here. Nick Foles is likely the starting QB and it's time we give him a little payback for 2017. I personally believe that this Vikings Front 7 is good enough to stuff the run against David Montgomery and Tarik Cohen. The real question is the passing defense. They'll need to continue to grow and show their stuff on the field if the Vikings have a chance at putting away the Matt Nagy bug for good and giving Kirk Cousins a quality QB win on national television.
5.) Special Teams - The punting unit is going to need to get *much* better real soon. Giving up two blocked punts in nearly back to back drives is unacceptable. The fact it was the Lions, who couldn't do crud with the gifts they were given, does not excuse the poor display. This is the Bears. They are a much better team than the Lions, by far. We are going to need to play tighter across the board on special teams to give the offense and defense something to work with.
With that, I believe the Vikings are going to... WIN the game, by a score of 34-20, Dalvin Cook breaks loose, goes for over 100 yards for the third game in a row, gets two rushing touchdowns, and Kirk Cousins throws his way to a solid 170 yard game with Jefferson/Thielen/Irv Smith Jr. getting two passing touchdowns. Comes down to Nick Foles trying to save the day for the Bears but DJ Wonnum sacks him for the win.