Film review: How Khalil Mack, Bears' front seven will test Vikings offense

When asked recently if anything about the NFC North has jumped out at him, Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer said enough with what he didn't say in his response.

"I thought Chicago would be good on defense," Zimmer said earlier this month. "I haven't watched them on offense at all, but I think with them adding [Khalil] Mack — it's helped them."

The Bears offense, led by a second-year Mitchell Trubisky who struggled mightily twice against the Vikings last season, has been the surprise of the division while averaging nearly 30 points in a 6-3 start.

When the Vikings (11th, 22.7ppg) come to town on Sunday night, first-year head coach Matt Nagy's surging offense will face its toughest scoring defense since Week 2 vs. the Seahawks (9th, 21.3ppg).

What's certain is the Bears defense has regained respect as one of the NFL's best. Chicago boasts a potent mixture of front-seven strength, allowing a league-best 3.6 yards per carry, and a back end with the NFL's most interceptions (16) entering Week 11.

Headlining is edge rusher Khalil Mack, who leads the Bears with seven sacks despite playing in just seven games this season. Mack returned last week from an ankle injury and looked healthy with two of the Bears' six sacks on Matthew Stafford.

Below we'll break down relevant elements from the Vikings offense against the Lions and how they match up with the Bears defense.

The line's biggest issues came in run blocking, which won't get much easier on Sunday night. The Vikings could use Tom Compton's return from a knee injury, even if he's just a slight improvement over Isidora as a run blocker. Isidora was beaten on a couple stuffed runs, including a no gain and a 1-yard run by Dalvin Cook.

2. Mack, the two-time All-Pro, will be a behemoth challenge for both Reiff and Brian O'Neill. The Bears pick spots for Mack, who has lined up more vs. right tackle (64.8%) this season than against left tackle (35.2%), according to Pro Football Focus. But his alignment differs by week. Against the Lions on Sunday, Mack spent seven of every 10 snaps against left tackle Taylor Decker while racking up two sacks.

Below, Mack (#52) dusts the weak chip by the Lions tight end and runs over Decker for the sack.

https://blog-media.startribune.com/access-vikings/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/13090628/BearsD4.mp4But the Vikings' challenges continue along the Bears' front. Nose tackle Eddie Goldman is one of the league's best run stoppers. The Vikings just saw one of them — Lions DT Damon Harrison — and he beat Isidora and center Pat Elflein en route to a team-high seven tackles (one for a loss). Right guard Mike Remmers was the most consistent interior linemen last week, and the Vikings need him to continue his solid play in Chicago.

The Bears bring some odd fronts, such as this wide 6-man alignment against a Lions third down on Sunday. Leonard Floyd, a former first-round pick, is outside the slot receiver to the right, but still gets the pressure to force a Stafford incompletion. The Vikings will need to be mindful of these kinds of twists in the pass rush.

Entering the bye week, the Vikings emphasized running the ball in the red zone, according to Zimmer. This 6-yard gain below is a good example of how John DeFilippo can help his blockers by spreading out in the shotgun and handing off to Murray.

Watch Remmers (#74) and O'Neill (#75) on the right side. They combo block Lions defensive tackle Ricky Jean Francois, then O'Neill gets to linebacker Jarrad Davis while drawing an illegal hands to the face penalty on Davis. This sets up Murray's 1-yard touchdown run.

https://blog-media.startribune.com/access-vikings/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/12205320/OL.mp4Since the Bears' front seven is so stout, coordinator Vic Fangio doesn't need to add an eighth defender against the Lions' two-TE formation on this 1st-and-10 play below.

It's because of plays like this by Bears defensive tackle Akiem Hicks, who embarrasses Lions right tackle Rick Wagner leading to the no gain by LaGarrette Blount.

https://blog-media.startribune.com/access-vikings/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/13085031/BearsD.mp44. Bears slot corner Bryce Callahan has shown why the Vikings were interested in him as a restricted free agent last spring. Callahan was a headache for Stafford, who was intercepted throwing to Marvin Jones Jr. against man-to-man coverage on Sunday. Callahan added another third-down deflection, a sack and a tackle for a loss against the Lions.

5. Tight end David Morgan's potential absence could be a big loss for the Vikings' run game. Morgan, the No. 2 tight end and blocking specialist, injured his knee against the Lions and declined to discuss his recovery on Monday.

Morgan's strength as a blocker allows the Vikings to draw up schemes like this one below on Cook's 7-yard run against the Lions. The Vikings essentially "trap" the defensive end aligned between Reiff (#71) and Isidora (#63) with Morgan (#89) pulling inside to block him. They might not be inclined to run something like this if Kyle Rudolph and Tyler Conklin are the only available tight ends.