Where Bears Own an Edge in Second Game with Vikings
The last Bears game against Minnesota was there for the taking in the second half after Cordarrelle Patterson broke a 104-yard kick return for a touchdown.
The Bears gradually gave the game away and appeared unable to do much about it all on offense as their defense gradually wore down.
The matchup appears somewhat different this time from the Bears side, anyway, as they have an actual running back available.
David Montgomery did not play in the first game and Cordarrelle Patterson is a nice counter option but not a load-hauler.
The other difference is Mitchell Trubisky is playing quarterback instead of Nick Foles -- the new Mitchell Trubisky that is.
The Vikings usually matched up fairly well with the old one. In fact, they matched up very well.
Trubisky is 4-2 against them but one win was Chase Daniel's when Trubisky was injured on the first series. The defense won two games for him in 2018 and two of the games were season finales with nothing to play for on the Vikings side.
Trubisky is only 98 of 158 for 850 yards with two touchdowns and three interceptions and a passer rating of 72.5.
There are lopsided matchups to be won in this game for the Bears and they'll need to take advantage to help make sure it's new Trubisky playing against Minnesota.
Bears WR Allen Robinson II vs. Vikings CB Kris Boyd
On non-passing downs, rookie Jeff Gladney lines up outside and Robinson would face him. Either way, Robinson moves around, too, but facing any of these Vikings cornerbacks should be a mismatch. He has 3 inches on Boyd, a couple inches on Gladney and neither Vikings cornerback has been really effective, although Gladney has been improving. Gladney in coverage has a 48.8 Pro Football Focus rating, which is poor. Boyd is not much better at 50.3. Gladney has allowed six TD passes and a 118.6 passer rating against while Boyd has given up two TDs and a 121.4 passer rating against. The Bears did not take advantage of these mismatches in the first game with Nick Foles at quarterback, but the Vikings tend to cheat with safety Harrison Smith over the top on Robinson. They held Robinson to 43 yards on six receptions. There wasn't much of a tight end threat to draw Smith away from cheating toward Robinson, but with Cole Kmet now working better in the offense it's possible they'll find Robinson open more.
Bears LG Cody Whitehair vs. Vikings DT Jaleel Johnson
The Bears had a beautifully blocked 80-yard TD run last week off the left side and Whitehair is one of their most consistent blockers. Earlier this season Whitehair's PFF grade had dipped into the mid 60s but over the last three weeks with Sam Mustipher at center Whitehair's efficiency has risen. In a year when the Bears have been one of the league's worst running teams, Whitehair has an excellent 81.2 run-blocking grade, although his pass blocking has been sub-par much of the year as the Bears struggled with continuity while using six different offensive lines. Johnson is one of the least effective Vikings defensive players, with a PFF rating of only 39.8. The third-year player became a starter this year and has 1 1/2 sacks and three tackles for loss.
Bears DE Akiem Hicks vs. Vikings RG Ezra Cleveland
Hicks still hasn't had a sack since Week 3 but in the last game he helped limit the Vikings running game so that Dalvin Cook gained only 3.2 yards per run, although he did run for 96 total yards. When Hicks went out with a hamstring injury in the game, the Bears struggled to stop the run. Cleveland is a tackle by trade who went to play guard by necessity and has only a 46.2 PFF pass blocking grade with four sacks allowed. He's been better blocking the run, though pass blocking was supposed to be his strength.
Bears LB Roquan Smith vs. Vikings C Garrett Bradbury
One thing the Bears appeared unwilling to do until they faced Deshaun Watson was blitz, but they had great success doing it last week and blitzing the right player against the Vikings and their boot-heavy offense can have a dual effect because it can disrupt the slow-developing run and the bootleg passes Kirk Cousins prefers. Smith made two sacks last week and leads the NFL with 85 solo tackles. A linebacker with speed is needed to break up the runs and boot passes and Smith would be excellent blitzing the A-gap. Bradbury's strength has been run blocking and he has allowed two sacks, while PFF has him at a 51.8 level as a pass blocker.
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