Quick turnaround for Vikings' rematch with Bears leads to schematic chess match

Both teams will likely be making adjustments from their Week 12 meeting on Monday night.

Nov 24, 2024; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Jordan Addison (3) celebrates his receiving touchdown with wide receiver Justin Jefferson (18) against the Chicago Bears during the second quarter at Soldier Field. / Daniel Bartel-Imagn Images

The Vikings are getting ready to host the Chicago Bears on Monday night in a game that will take place just 22 days after Minnesota won an overtime thriller between the two teams in Chicago.

A lot has changed for the Bears (4-9) during that time, although losing has been a constant. That Week 12 game at Soldier Field marked Chicago's fifth consecutive loss. The streak grew to six in disastrous fashion against the Lions on Thanksgiving, and head coach Matt Eberflus was fired the next morning. It was the first time in the franchise's 105-year history that they've fired a head coach midseason. Interim coach Thomas Brown's debut game in the role was a blowout 38-13 loss to the 49ers this past Sunday, stretching the losing streak to seven.

Despite Chicago's struggles, the quick turnaround of this rematch with the Vikings (11-2) makes for an interesting schematic chess match. What kind of adjustments might the Bears make to try to limit a Vikings offense that racked up 452 yards in the last meeting? The same question can be asked of Brian Flores' defense, which was gashed for 340 passing yards by Caleb Williams. Chicago has been all but mathematically eliminated from playoff contention, but Brown's team desperately wants to pick up its first win in two months this week.

"I think there's the cat and mouse game that everybody plays schematically as you get later on in the season," Kevin O'Connell said this week. "There's a ton of inventory. But yes, we just played this team three games ago, and what were the things we could do better? ... You've gotta anticipate some schematic changes."

One notable example will be how the Bears choose to defend Justin Jefferson. They sold out to take him out of the game a few weeks ago and were successful in doing so, limiting the Vikings' best player to two catches for 27 yards (and only one seven-yard reception prior to OT). But a side effect of that strategy was that Jordan Addison, Aaron Jones, and T.J. Hockenson destroyed them, combining for 405 yards from scrimmage and two touchdowns on a day where the Vikings averaged seven yards per play. Will the Bears replicate that plan or play Minnesota's offense more traditionally?

"You gotta anticipate how we're gonna play the game," O'Connell said. "We didn't have Josh Oliver the last time we played, what does that look like in the run and pass phase? And then ultimately, what does our tape look like now? Because in a lot of ways, four quarters or two games is an eternity from a standpoint of adding inventory of things either we've done or maybe new ways that they played Detroit or San Francisco. You could really go both ways with it, from the over-analyzing to maybe not being prepared enough for the type of changes and schematics that you could see. So it's our job as coaches to be prepared for both scenarios."

Williams and the Bears' offense had shown some progress in recent weeks, but Sunday's loss in San Francisco was a step back. They trailed 24-0 at halftime and were held to 162 total yards on the day. Williams threw for just 134 yards and was sacked seven times. The Vikings, who gave up 398 yards to the Bears last time, will look to tighten up the rookie quarterback's passing windows and put him under plenty of pressure.

O'Connell also indirectly noted that the last meeting didn't need to be as close as it wound up being. Aaron Jones fumbled near the goal line on the Vikings' opening possession, and then a 27-16 lead with less than two minutes to play turned into a tie game due to a quick Bears scoring drive and an onside kick recovery.

"I thought there were some real (opportunities) in the game, either with the early turnover, or just when we go up 11 and we have the momentum in the game, we give up a long (kick) return, and then that turns into an opportunity for them to get the points that they needed late, which they did a great job executing late in that game," O'Connell said. "Just the experience factor of our team understanding all those little things that gave them an opportunity to stay in the football game and keep fighting and competing."

The Vikings are seven-point favorites for this week's primetime rematch at U.S. Bank Stadium. They'll be looking to stretch the Bears' losing streak to eight and extend their own winning streak to seven — and ideally in more comfortable fashion this time around.

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