Bears vs Vikings: Inside the Matchups
Nov 2, 2014; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Minnesota Vikings quarterback Teddy Bridgewater (5) throws during the second quarter against the Washington Redskins at TCF Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports
When the Vikings Have the Ball
The Vikings offense suffered a big blow when admitted child abuser Adrian Peterson was sent to the Commissioner’s Exempt List and Christian Ponder and Matt Cassel were sidelined with injuries. The future is now for the Vikings offense and now, it’s not that good.
For the Bears, their defense has been legendarily bad the last couple of weeks against a couple of the best quarterbacks in the league. On Sunday, no one should mistake Teddy Bridgewater for either Brady or Rodgers.
Vikings Passing Offense (29th, 197.1 YPG) vs Bears Passing Defense (28th, 268.6 YPG)
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Da Windy City
The Vikings passing attack is not very good. Part of that is due to rookie signal caller Teddy Bridgewater and part of it is due to a lack of wide receiver talent. Cordarrelle Patterson and Greg Jennings as the top targets. Losing tight end Kyle Rudolph also stymied their development. Even the loss of Peterson, who was excellent in pass protection put this group behind the 8-ball. Rudolph could return on Sunday, which will make things interesting for the Bears safeties.
If I’m the Bears, I’m loading up the box and daring Bridgewater to beat me. Put some different looks out there to make it hard for Bridgewater to recognize the coverage. Apply plenty and pressure and you should be good to go.
Advantage: Bears
Vikings Rushing Offense (10th, 119.3 YPG) vs Bears Rushing Defense (15th, 112.6 YPG)
Despite playing without Adrian Peterson, the Vikings run the ball well, going for nearly 120 per game. Rookie Jerrick McKinnon has emerged as the Vikings top runner. Matt Asiata leads the team with 6 rushing touchdowns touchdowns in 9 games. The Vikings run behind a stout offensive line with bookend tackles Matt Kalil and Phil Loadholt who will maul the Bears up front. The Bears will be challenged to handle Bridgewater in the zone read.