The Chicago Bears are sitting at 3-8, so why not have some fun and get bold for Monday Night Football against the Minnesota Vikings? What are some bold predictions that could come true when these two division rivals square off?
3. The Chicago Bears will deliver Joshua Dobbs worst game with the Minnesota Vikings
Joshua Dobbs has been a sensation. He just joined the Vikings and has been able to pick up the playbook and lead the team to a 2-1 record, with the loss being a devastator in the final seconds. Dobbs is hot, and the Bears are not after blowing a big lead that featured the same old pass defense.
However, that same old pass defense did pick off Jared Goff three times earlier in the game. They also had one of their best games from a pressure standpoint, and that was against the Lions' elite offensive line. The Bears' defense blew the game against a solid team, but this unit is playing a lot better and is a lot healthier all around.
They have Kyler Gordon playing his best. Montez Sweat has helped the pass rush, and it made life easier for the rest of the linemen. Plus, Andrew Billings is one of the best at defending the run, and the Vikings could get one-dimensional.
Lastly, we saw this with Joshua Dobbs earlier in the year. He came out hot and had nothing to lose, but it came back around in the end. In the first four games with the Cardinals, Dobbs had four touchdowns and no picks. He averaged 8.19 adjusted yards per attempt and completed 70% of his passes. He was sacked six times, producing a 99.4 passer rating.
In the next four games, he had four touchdowns to five interceptions, 4.27 adjusted yards per attempt, and 11 sacks; just 56% of his passes were complete, and he was sacked 11 times. He can come out and surprise you, but once you get the tape on him, he is not what you want. Dobbs has looked good in small samples. Has the time worn out against an improved defense?
2. The Chicago Bears will see Gervon Dexter record his first sack
Gervon Dexter has been a bit of a disappointment this year. The Bears do not seem to trust him in the run game, and it is impacting his overall snaps played. However, he has shown promise in the passing game. While it is because the Bears led the last two weeks and faced more passing downs, it is also the two highest snap rates of the season for Dexter.
Some of that may be because they want to see him out there more. Dexter has 15 pressures all season, but six have come in the past two weeks. So, he is playing more and producing more as his rookie season continues.
Now, he gets a Minnesota interior that is certainly not as good as their tackle group. Right guard Ed Ingram is the weakness of the unit, and left guard Dalton Risner signed about a month ago.
As we noted, Dobbs is susceptible to the sack. He has taken at least one in every game this year and has taken multiple sacks in eight games this year. The Bears will get multiple sacks, and Dexter will be one of them.
1. Justin Fields will rush for over 100 yards for the Chicago Bears against the Minnesota Vikings
This may not be that bold, considering he just did it last week. Still, that was just the fifth time in his career he hit that mark and the first time all year. Last year, he did it in back-to-back weeks against Detroit and Miami. This year, he has the chance to do it against Detroit and Minnesota.
Minnesota has a good run defense, but they also have not faced many rushing attacks like Chicago. The Eagles ran all over the Vikings, and while Jalen Hurts only had 35 yards, he had two touchdowns, and DeAndre Swift went over 150. That is because the speed killed the Vikings.
The Vikings have a well-schemed defense, but they do not have the athletes to run with Justin Fields. So, Fields will struggle to pass against Brian Flores and his blitzes, but he can escape and run. He did that for 46 yards in the first half against the Vikings the first time around.
Fields will have a similar success this time around and will finish the game. A fourth-quarter breakaway run will get him over 100 rushing.