The Vikings rarely have an easy game against the Bears, and they likely won't have one here, given the fact Chicago is fighting for its playoff life and has a front seven that always gives the Vikings trouble. But if Kirk Cousins plays as well this time as he did in November, he'll get his first season sweep over the team he rooted for as a kid. The Vikings will keep their playoff hopes alive ... by a field goal.
Ben Goessling's Vikings-Bears prediction
The NFC North rivals meet for the second time this season, with both teams fighting for their playoff lives.
December 18, 2020 at 8:11PM
THREE STORY LINES
Playoff hopes on the line for two teams
The Vikings, who started 1-5 before winning five of their next six, are 6-7 and a game back of the NFC's final wild-card spot. So are the Bears, who started 5-1, then lost six straight before winning last week. Sunday's winner could still have a realistic shot at the No. 7 seed; the loser would be all but finished at 6-8.
Trubisky back at QB for the Bears
In the first matchup between the two teams, the Vikings held the Bears to just 108 yards passing in a game where Nick Foles left the field on a cart. After the Bears' bye week, they've turned back to Mitchell Trubisky, who's given their passing game something of a spark. Chicago has scored 91 points in its past three games with Trubisky starting. The No. 2 pick in the 2017 draft gives the Vikings something else to think about with his mobility, but has thrown for more than 200 yards against them only once in six starts.
Bailey gets another chance
After missing seven kicks in the Vikings' past two games, Dan Bailey figures to be the team's kicker again on Sunday, having received a vote of confidence from coach Mike Zimmer in front of the team this week. Bailey had made 10 of his 12 field goals through the Vikings' first 11 games and had missed only one extra point; he'll get a chance to get himself back on track this week.
TWO KEY MATCHUPS
Vikings' run defense vs. Bears RB David Montgomery
A concussion kept Montgomery out of the first game against the Vikings, but he's surpassed 100 yards in two of the Bears' last three, despite only carrying the ball 11 times in both of them. With Eric Kendricks out again on Sunday, the Vikings will have a challenge to keep Montgomery from breaking the big runs that he posted against Green Bay and Houston.
Vikings offensive line vs. Bears DE Khalil Mack
In the Week 10 matchup between the two teams, the Bears put Mack on the left side of their formation for 50 snaps and the right side for 13, according to Pro Football Focus. Given all the trouble the Vikings have had with stunts and twists along the line in recent weeks, it stands to reason the Bears will use similar tactics to get free runs at Cousins, either with Mack looping around another defender or creating a favorable matchup for a teammate.
ONE STAT THAT MATTERS
10: Number of times the Vikings have turned the ball over in their last five games against the Bears.
The Vikings will win if …
They're able to win the turnover battle against the Bears for the first time since the 2017 season, run the ball effectively again with Akiem Hicks back from the hamstring injury he sustained in the first matchup, and keep Trubisky from creating big plays off his ability to scramble.
The Bears will win if …
Their defense uses Hicks' return to make life difficult for the Vikings up front, their secondary can hold up better than it did when the Vikings picked on Chicago's corners in Week 10, and Trubisky hits a few of the key throws that Foles could not in the first matchup.
Prediction: Vikings 20, Bears 17
Mike Conley was in Minneapolis, where he sounded the Gjallarhorn at the Vikings game, on Sunday during the robbery.
