- Kickoff: Noon, Sunday
- Where: U.S. Bank Stadium
- TV: Fox
- Radio: KFAN 100.3-FM; SiriusXM 225, 820 (Vikings), 382, 805 (Bears)
- Line: Vikings by 2½
After their third home loss of the year last Sunday, the Vikings (4-5) are in dire need of a win at U.S. Bank Stadium against the Bears team they beat in Week 1. Since starting 0-2, Chicago (6-3) has won six of its last seven, pulling into a tie with the Lions for the NFC North lead. A loss on Sunday would put the Vikings three games behind the Bears and further damage their playoff hopes before a difficult two-game road trip.
Here’s a look at what to expect Sunday between the Vikings and Bears:
The biggest story line
Vikings look to snap skid at home: The Vikings have lost their past two at U.S. Bank Stadium, and are just 1-3 at home this year after falling 27-19 to the Ravens last Sunday. Kevin O’Connell has lost just once against the Bears (at home in 2023), and the Vikings are the only undefeated NFC North team in division games this year, but they’ve spent the week drilling efficiency at home after committing eight false starts against the Ravens.
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Vikings offense vs. Bears defense
McCarthy gets his first rematch: Though J.J. McCarthy struggled for most of the first three quarters of the Vikings’ season opener against the Bears, the fourth-quarter comeback he directed at Soldier Field on Sept. 8 made him the first starting QB since Steve Young to direct a 10-point comeback in the fourth quarter of his first NFL start. The Bears will be the first team he faces twice, and the rematch should provide the Vikings with another data point about McCarthy’s progress, if he can show he’s learned from how Chicago played him the first time. “I learned a lot [from the first game],” he said this week. “The biggest thing that comes to mind is just consistency. The name of the game in this league, and any real profession, is just, how can you be consistently great over and over again?”
Bears' pass rush thinned by injuries: Bears defensive end Dayo Odeyingbo, who sacked McCarthy in the season opener, was ruled out for the season last week after tearing his Achilles tendon. Chicago will use 2024 fifth-rounder Austin Booker in his place, while Montez Sweat’s matchup with Brian O’Neill on the right side of the Vikings’ offensive line will be key to the team’s effort to protect McCarthy, who was pressured on just 24% of his snaps in the first game.
Vikings defense vs. Bears offense
Williams’ elusiveness a problem: In the first game with the Vikings, second-year quarterback Caleb Williams ran six times for 58 yards and a touchdown, while being sacked just twice despite the fact the Vikings blitzed him more than all but one team he’s faced this season. According to NFL Next Gen Stats, the Vikings have sacked Williams on just two of the 47 plays they’ve blitzed him in three games against him, and linebacker Blake Cashman pulled his hamstring while chasing Williams in Week 1. The Vikings will try to pressure him Sunday; they’ll have to do so in a way that keeps him from using it against them.
Bears will test Vikings’ secondary depth: Chicago has spent more than two-thirds of its plays in three-receiver sets since returning from its bye week, according to NFL Next Gen Stats. The personnel shift has opened up the Bears’ offense, and it could put the Vikings in nickel situations for much of the game, as they likely turn to Fabian Moreau for the third consecutive week with Jeff Okudah on injured reserve. Rome Odunze, the Bears’ first-round pick in 2024, is averaging 15.1 yards per reception on 37 catches this season.
