Vikings Pre-MNF Notes: Mattison/Chandler, D.J. Wonnum, Ivan Pace Jr.

A few notes ahead of the Vikings-Bears matchup on Monday Night Football.

Let's go over a few notes ahead of the Vikings' Week 12 matchup with the Bears on Monday Night Football.

Mattison/Chandler split

As expected, Vikings second-year RB Ty Chandler will continue to be used in "an enhanced role" tonight, according to ESPN's Jeremy Fowler.

"While Alexander Mattison will continue to start for Vikings tonight vs. Bears, Minnesota will keep using Ty Chandler in an enhanced role," Fowler tweeted. "Team high on upside/explosion, once he gets pass protection down. Vikings have good two-back dynamic leading into December."

The Mattison/Chandler usage question is one I dove into at length earlier this week. Mattison's fumbling issues and Chandler's explosiveness have necessitated an even split, although the Vikings still seem to trust the veteran more in pass protection.

Wonnum's track record against the Bears

D.J. Wonnum has to be licking his chops today. For whatever reason, the fourth-year OLB has absolutely destroyed the Bears throughout his career. He has five games with at least five pressures (per PFF), and all five have come against Chicago.

D.J. Wonnum LOVES playing the Bears. These are all of his career games with at least five pressures (per PFF):

- 2021 at CHI: 9
- 2021 vs. CHI: 6
- 2023 at CHI: 6
- 2020 at CHI: 5
- 2022 vs. CHI: 5

He's never done it against anyone else. 7.5 of his 17 career sacks vs. CHI, too.

— Will Ragatz (@WillRagatz) October 16, 2023

Since that tweet, Wonnum has added four more sacks, bringing his career total to 21. Even with that being the case, he still has more than a third of his career sacks against the Bears — and he can add to that total tonight by taking down Justin Fields.

Another big test for Pace

Keep an eye on Vikings rookie linebacker Ivan Pace Jr., who stepped into an every-down role last week due to Jordan Hicks being on injured reserve. Pace played well against the Broncos in his first game wearing the green dot for the defense (meaning he's the one who relays the calls from Brian Flores to his teammates).

"I thought, for the most part, mixing and matching things and IP running that green dot, it was probably as smooth as it was going to be," Kevin O'Connell said last Monday. "Jordan's been extremely critical for our whole defensive operation, especially in those two minutes or when teams are going fast on us and we’re communicating different alerts, checks, things like that, but I thought IP did a nice job handling that."

This week presents another challenge for Pace, who will be a big part of the Vikings' effort to slow down Fields and Khalil Herbert in the Bears' running game. We also could see more of veteran Anthony Barr, who has been elevated from the practice squad again after playing 12 defensive snaps in his season debut in Denver.

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