Chicago Bears vs. Minnesota Vikings: 5 storylines to watch in Week 12

LAKE FOREST – The trio of NFC North matchups continues Sunday for the Chicago Bears. Head coach Matt Eberflus’ team takes on the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday at Soldier Field in the second of three straight divisional matchups.

Quarterback Caleb Williams is preparing to face a Vikings defense that blitzes at the highest rate in the NFL. That could make life hard on the rookie.

The Vikings have won five of the past six contests against the Bears, although the Bears won the last matchup between these two rivals. The Bears won an ugly, 12-10 game last November, during which they scored all their points on field goals.

This time around, the Bears (4-6) and the Vikings (8-2) kick off at noon from Soldier Field. The game will be broadcast on Fox. Here are the top five storylines to watch.

1. Can the Bears handle the blitz?

It’s all anybody’s been talking about at Halas Hall. Minnesota defensive coordinator Brian Flores blitzes more than any other defense in the NFL (37.7% of defensive plays). That presents a unique challenge for any offense, but especially for an offense with a rookie quarterback.

Williams has fared well against the blitz. His passer rating against the blitz is nearly identical to his passer rating when the defense doesn’t blitz.

Still, a defense like this will test all 11 players on the offense.

“Perfecting the plan is an ongoing process,” Eberflus said. “I told the guys that we’re going to have to have elite communication during the course of this game.”

The tight ends are going to have to help blocking. The running backs are going to have to block from time to time. In last year’s win over the Vikings, the Bears threw a lot of screen passes and short, quick throws. Those will be important again, but the offense can’t be one-dimensional.

“I think you have to have other ways to attack,” Eberflus said. “I really do. You got to attack the whole part of the field.”

2. Force Darnold to make mistakes

Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold has thrown 10 interceptions this season, and five of them came during a two-game stretch this month. For a Bears defense that’s top 10 in the league in interceptions and total takeaways, there’s an opportunity this week.

“I feel like he hasn’t been too consistent,” Bears cornerback Jaylon Johnson said. “He started off hot, and then the biggest thing is the turnovers. He’s been having a lot of turnovers lately, and you can see how it affects the team on tape. Just overall for us, we want to be able to be disruptive and get some turnovers because we know that changes the dynamics of the offense.”

I feel like [Sam Darnold] hasn’t been too consistent. He started off hot and then the biggest thing is the turnovers. He’s been having a lot of turnovers lately.”

—  Jaylon Johnson, Bears cornerback

Darnold has thrown only one interception when the defense blitzes, compared with nine when it doesn’t. The Bears are a defense that blitzes infrequently. If they can force Darnold to read their coverages, they likely can force him into mistakes.

That makes it all the more important for Montez Sweat and the front four to wreak havoc without the help of extra blitzers.

3. Week 2 with Thomas Brown

Last week was a whirlwind. The Bears fired offensive coordinator Shane Waldron on Tuesday, promoting Thomas Brown to the position. They played Green Bay just five days later.

The Bears were much more efficient offensively with Brown running the show. But this week Brown stepped up to the podium at Halas Hall and said that’s not a moral victory.

“There are no atta-boys in this game,” Brown said. “We play the game to win. We came up short. But I want to start first by saying how much I appreciate the response from our coaches and our players because last week on Wednesday, I really challenged the entire group, all the coaches, including myself, all the players, to do more, to give more, to be accountable, to practice harder so we have an opportunity to go play well.”

The Vikings will be a unique challenge. It will test Brown’s creativity as a play caller and a play designer. Protecting the quarterback will be key.

“How many ways can we design unsackable plays?” Brown said.

Bears fans are hoping Brown has come up with many ways.

4. Swift dealing with groin injury

Bears running back D’Andre Swift missed one day of practice this week with a groin injury, although he did return to full participation by Friday. Swift is officially listed as questionable. The 25-year-old told members of the media Friday that he’s “good to go.”

The Bears certainly will need him. Minnesota has the No. 1 run defense in the NFL. The Vikings are allowing only 74.4 rushing yards per game. Their blitzing defense makes life hard on QBs, but it also keeps the offensive line guessing.

“It’s the variety of fronts [they use], and it’s just about what they give you and how are you going to communicate it?” left guard Teven Jenkins said. “There’s a lot of things that go into it that they’re good at and good at hiding and scheming up offenses.”

Jenkins is expected to return to the lineup after missing one game with an ankle injury. His return could be a big boost for the offensive line. Lineman Ryan Bates (concussion) has already been ruled out.

Swift is excited about the challenge ahead for him.

“They do a lot of unique things defensively,” Swift said. “They play well together.”

5. The resurgent Vikings

The Vikings are the team in the NFC that nobody is talking about. They’re 8-2, just a step behind the Detroit Lions atop the NFC North. They nearly beat the Lions last month.

Everybody is expecting Darnold to turn back into the same quarterback he was early in his career with the Jets. When rookie J.J. McCarthy went down with a season-ending knee injury in August, most fans left the Vikings for dead. Head coach Kevin O’Connell probably isn’t getting enough credit for what he has done with this offense and this quarterback. Darnold is 13th in passing yards and fifth in passing touchdowns.

If history is any indication, Sunday’s game on a cool November afternoon probably will be a grind. Seven of the past nine Bears/Vikings matchups have been one-possession games.

O’Connell and Eberflus were hired the same year. Over two-plus seasons, Eberflus is 5-17 in games decided by eight points or fewer. In that same time span, O’Connell’s team is 22-10 (including one playoff loss).