Bears vs Vikings: Five Questions with The Viking Age

Oct 9, 2016; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Minnesota Vikings fans Syd Davy cheers on his team against the Houston Texans at U.S. Bank Stadium. The Vikings win 31-13. Mandatory Credit: Bruce Kluckhohn-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 9, 2016; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Minnesota Vikings fans Syd Davy cheers on his team against the Houston Texans at U.S. Bank Stadium. The Vikings win 31-13. Mandatory Credit: Bruce Kluckhohn-USA TODAY Sports /
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Dec 20, 2015; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Minnesota Vikings offensive lineman Joe Berger (61) gets ready to snap the ball in the second quarter against the Chicago Bears at TCF Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 20, 2015; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Minnesota Vikings offensive lineman Joe Berger (61) gets ready to snap the ball in the second quarter against the Chicago Bears at TCF Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports /

To help us prepare for the Bears vs Vikings, we’ve enlisted the help of our friends from The Viking Age with our weekly Five Questions post.

The Chicago Bears and Minnesota Vikings wrap up Week 8 on the NFL schedule.  With both the Green Bay Packers and Detroit Lions losing on Sunday, it creates an opportunity for the Vikings to open up their lead of the NFC North or allow the Bears to try to play spoiler and tighten up the division race.  Bears vs Vikings on Halloween night could be full of tricks and treats.

For the 1-6 Chicago Bears, it’s been a struggle all season.  Injuries have killed the Bears on both sides of the ball.  Jay Cutler, who’s been sidelined since Week 2, makes his return amid another mild quarterback controversy.  Brian Hoyer, who filled in for Cutler, seemed to spark the offense.  But while Hoyer moved the ball and piled up some yardage, he only managed to guide the Bears to one win.

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On the defensive side of the ball, the Bears have been without one of their most dominant pass rushers for the first six weeks of the season as Pernell McPhee was on the PUP list until last week.  Defensive tackle Eddie Goldman, cornerback Kyle Fuller and other key defenders have missed time as Vic Fangio’s unit comes together in Year 2 of their program.

For the Vikings, it’s been nearly a perfect start to the season.  They come to Soldier Field and only lost their first game last week.  The Vikings have overcome some pretty big injuries of their own.  They lost starting quarterback Teddy Bridgewater in the preseason to a devastating knee injury.  All-World running back Adrian Peterson went down early in the season with an injury of his own.  Yet the Vikings have barely missed a beat.

How have they overcome this adversity?  What can the Bears expect from Sam Bradford?  Who or what has been the key to their top-ranked defense?  Who are some under the radar players that might have an impact on Monday night’s game?  What’s the prediction for the game?  To help us answer these questions, we enlisted the help of Adam Carlson from our sister site The Viking Age to answer our Five Questions.