Bears scouting report: Running back David Montgomery a lone stable force on offense

Sunday, noon at U.S. Bank Stadium (Ch. 9 and KFAN-FM 100.3)

ABOUT THE BEARS

• The Bears (6-10) have won back-to-back games since losing 17-9 to the Vikings at home. They've started quarterbacks Nick Foles and Andy Dalton, who most recently threw for 173 yards, a touchdown and an interception in a 29-3 victory over the Giants.

• Either Dalton or Foles is expected to start again on Sunday after Justin Fields was placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list on Thursday. The Vikings played both quarterbacks last season, losing to Dalton's Cowboys and beating Foles' Bears.

• Speedy receiver Darnell Mooney, 24, and tight end Cole Kmet, 22, have emerged as the go-to targets for the young Bears offense. Mooney has at least five catches and 50 receiving yards in three consecutive games entering Sunday, including five grabs for 63 yards vs. the Vikings last month.

• Linebacker Roquan Smith ranks fourth in the NFL with 157 combined tackles (93 solo), leading the Bears defense in a way that has Vikings players comparing him to Eric Kendricks. But Chicago might not have star defensive tackle Akiem Hicks (ankle), who hasn't practiced this week.

PLAYER SPOTLIGHT | RB David Montgomery

• Montgomery is one of the reasons Vikings rookie Kene Nwangwu didn't see a heavy workload at Iowa State. Montgomery and Nwangwu were part of the same 2016 freshman class, making immediate impacts at running back and kick returner, respectively.

• Montgomery on attempting a jump pass that fell incomplete in last week's win: "I feel like I was a good high school quarterback. That play definitely didn't show it. I got highlights out there if you want to go look."

• Montgomery on his season, which included a four-game absence because of a knee injury: "I haven't done as much as I felt like I could to help the team. … I feel I could do better in a lot of areas, but you have times where you go through rough patches and you have to be able to fight and keep going."

COACH SPEAK | Matt Nagy

• Nagy is ending his fourth season as Bears coach with a 34-30 record (.531) in the regular season and 0-2 in two playoff appearances. Despite this being his first losing season in Chicago, there is a growing expectation that a coaching change will be made by Bears ownership.

• Nagy on the Bears offense: "We know that we want to see more points on the board, like we've talked this year with some red-zone stuff. But being able to develop these players, that's what I look at what we've done here … I think our coaches have done a good job."