Film review: Rams pressure a danger to Vikings after Akiem Hicks, Bears demolish offensive line

Akiem Hicks' hands cast aside Vikings right guard Mason Cole, freeing a lane for the Bears' 335-pound wrecking ball to sack quarterback Kirk Cousins in the first quarter. It was the first of a season-worst four sacks on Cousins during Monday night's 17-9 win, after which Hicks used those hands to point at the crowd in every direction at Soldier Field.

"I was pointing to the people that cheer for me, the people that love me, the people that love how I play the game," Hicks said. "They're always yelling my name. I wanted to show some love back."

If that's Hicks' primetime farewell after six disruptive seasons in Chicago, there should be a going-away party at TCO Performance Center just to say good riddance. The 32-year-old Hicks leaving when his contract expires this offseason may be the only thing that will stop him from demolishing the Vikings offense biannually.

The Vikings didn't have a 100-yard passer, runner or receiver. Quarterback Kirk Cousins left with a career-low 87 yards against a backup secondary. Edge rusher Robert Quinn likely taught rookie Christian Darrisaw a couple things during two sacks. Hicks did much of his damage against right guard Mason Cole, whom Vikings coaches decided to keep there over the often-penalized Oli Udoh.

They'll need better from the offensive line, as well as Cousins, on Sunday against the Rams and defensive tackle Aaron Donald. Seventeen points likely won't get a win against Matthew Stafford and Sean McVay. Let's take a closer look at how Monday night unfolded.

1. Hicks was on the sideline while the Vikings gained a majority — 62% to be exact — of yardage in their two touchdown drives. Coordinator Klint Kubiak didn't have many answers when Hicks was on the field, with Cole's struggles extending past the halftime adjustments and into a slog of a second half.

The Vikings' second and final touchdown drive was dominated by Hicks on back-to-back plays to force a third-and-18 play. That's when they were bailed out by fill-in Bears safety Teez Tabor's low block personal foul, when he dove in front of right tackle Brian O'Neill to tackle Dalvin Cook. Hicks took a rest on the sideline, and suddenly Kene Nwangwu had a 19-yard run and the Vikings were marching.

Below are the back-to-back plays blown up by Hicks, illustrating the issues when they leave him single blocked by Cole in the run and pass games.

Hicks, now 32 years old, has eight career games with at least three quarterback hits.

Half of those standout games have come against one opponent — the Vikings. It's been a remarkable reign of terror with at least one matchup left on Jan. 9 at U.S. Bank Stadium before Hicks is scheduled to become a free agent in 2022.

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2. For the second straight game, Cousins did not complete a pass "under pressure," as Pro Football Focus judges it. Even with the subjectivity of gauging pressure on a given play, it reflects Cousins' recent slump when feeling the heat. That distinction — going 0 for 18 while under pressure in consecutive games — is a first via PFF's charting for the 2021 season. It's also not something that should be worn by Cousins alone.

The Bears' all-replacement secondary balled out. On this third-and-9 to start the fourth quarter, Bears defensive back Marqui Christian (#23) single-handedly stops what should've been a third-down completion to Jefferson while Cousins was under pressure.

Bears linebacker Alec Ogletree (#44) was all over the field, and delayed a blitz when Cole (#52) turns away to his right. Even with Ogletree unblocked up the middle, Cousins targets the intermediate in-breaking route to Jefferson. But he's draped in coverage by Christian, who had played just 30 defensive snaps since Week 1 before Monday night. This is what Cousins likely wants to do consistently — standing in the pocket and keeping his eyes downfield under pressure — to no avail.

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3. Cousins' interception might've been a window into his sometimes tunnel field vision, which appeared to lock onto a Bears safety on the opposite side of the field — determining his read — while being oblivious to the fact Jefferson was on the ground.

With less than a minute left before halftime on third down, the Vikings send Jefferson (#18) and receiver K.J. Osborn (#17) on dueling over routes to attack what was frequently two-deep safety coverage by Chicago.

Cousins is well-protected, with Cole and center Garrett Bradbury double teaming Hicks. But Christian (#23), the Bears' nickel defensive back, grabs Jefferson as he's beat on the release. There's no call from officials as Jefferson loses his balance and goes down. Cousins appears locked onto the safety to his right, throwing to where Jefferson should've been running as soon as that safety drops onto Osborn's over route.

"I was expecting [Jefferson] to be able to get over there and I threw it before I knew," Cousins said.

etc.

Some more observations on the Vikings offense:

Left guard Ezra Cleveland had some more encouraging moments, flashing when he drove nose tackle Eddie Goldman off the ball on a 7-yard run. Bradbury got a hand on Goldman, and pivoted to linebacker Roquan Smith on the play to make it possible. Bradbury was more aggressive, which they'll need again against the Rams, Packers and Bears. But for being a lighter offensive line, Bradbury, Cole and company were often too slow to react to Smith and Ogletree in the run and screen games.

Remember that play-action 'hide' route highlighted here before Monday night? The Packers ran it on the Vikings, who ran it on the 49ers the following week. The Packers again got Davante Adams free with it against the Bears last week. So Kubiak went back to it with Jefferson, but Ogletree read it like a book and stopped Jefferson for a 4-yard gain.

Feed Kene Nwangwu? The shifty rookie gouged the Bears for gains of 19 and 11 yards, dodging multiple defenders in the process. Obviously the Vikings are in winning and job-saving mode, but Nwangwu had just three carries and deserves more.

Rookie moment: receiver Ihmir Smith-Marsette caught his first NFL touchdown when the Bears forgot to cover him. He also appeared to be the 12th man on the field, forcing the Vikings to burn a timeout to open the second quarter.