Although the season will be over for the Chicago Bears after this Sunday, the Vikings still have a lot of football to play. The Vikings have clinched the NFC North title, guaranteeing them a playoff spot, but they are definitely wanting to keep their strong momentum going. The main thing for the Bears will be to finish the game with Mitchell Trubisky in full health and see a little more progression in Trubisky, especially against such a division rival with a stout defense.
According to FOX Sports, when the Bears expanded the playbook for Trubisky, he has gone from completing 53 percent of his passes through his first seven games to 71 percent over the past four games while throwing for 880 yards. Everyone has seen signs of improvement from Trubisky. He has continued to amaze people with his athleticism but more importantly with his accuracy, even while on the move.
Jordan Howard and Tarik Cohen will need to be heavily utilized in this game as well. I would hope that the Bears would let Cohen get some more touches, whether it be out of the backfield or in the slot. Cohen has been one of the most impressive mid-round rookies in the entire NFL this season and he will come back stronger and better than ever next year.
Both the Bears and Vikings defenses will have their hands full. The Vikings will need to focus on containing Trubisky, Howard, and Cohen. However, The Bears will have a much harder task ahead. The secondary will need to attempt to contain Case Keenum, maybe a little bit of Teddy Bridgewater, Adam Thielen, Stefon Diggs, Kyle Rudolph, and their stable of running backs.
If anyone is up to the task, it is this impressive Bears secondary. According to the Chicago Tribune, the Bears have only allowed one opposing wide receiver to gain 100 or more passing yards and that was Antonio Brown when he had 10 catches for 110 yards back in Week 3. The last time the Bears played the Vikings this season, they were able to hold Adam Thielen to 5 catches for 34 yards and Stefon Diggs to 1 catch for 4 yards.
The Vikings know that the Bears team they are playing this week are not the same Bears they played in Week 5 when Trubisky made his first career start and only lost the game by three points. The Vikings are heavily favored in this game, as they should be since they have a lot to play for, while the Bears will benefit from losing this game if they intend on keeping their spot in the top 10 of the 2018 draft next year. I do believe the Bears will put up a fight in the dome where the Super Bowl will take place in February 2018, but ultimately the Vikings will too overpowering as they look to make their run to the Super Bowl.
SCORE PREDICTION:
Bears – 14
Vikings – 28
Stay tuned for more Bears news, notes, and predictions this upcoming offseason. The Bears will most likely have a new coaching staff, free agent additions, and draft picks that will all help turn this team into a playoff, if not Super Bowl, caliber franchise.