Vikings at Bears Game Preview: Doing the Quarterback Shuffle
Joe Oberle
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The Vikings are headed to Soldier Field in Chicago (where all kinds of strange things have happened to them over the years) to play a Monday Night Football game against the Chicago Bears. And at this writing, we are sure of the identity of only one starting quarterback, and it isn’t the Vikings QB.
At press time (so to speak), the Vikings were still holding their quarterback cards close to their shoulder pads and not yet saying if Sam Bradford would be healthy enough to start. The last statement we had from head coach Mike Zimmer was as cryptic as his “we don’t have a crystal ball” quotes:
“Again, it’s day-to-day. It feels better. Everything he is doing is feeling better. But obviously, we don’t know.”
The Bears, on the other hand, went completely frontal on their quarterback situation, announcing on Monday that rookie Mitch Trubisky would finally get his first start of the season. He will replace a struggling Mike Glennon, who was brought in to be a placeholder for the rookie, but Glennon’s spate of bad turnovers in recent games (and the Bears’ 1-3 start) appear to have forced his hand.
“It was just a decision I thought needed to be made,” coach John Fox said Monday evening on WBBM radio. “We’ve had 10 giveaways in the first four weeks of the season, and you can’t win football games that way. Not that they were all one guy’s fault, but the combination of that, we’re going a different direction.”
So, the Vikings defense will see fresh meat in the guise of Trubisky’s first start in his NFL career, but Zimmer will have precious little film to watch on the rookie (save for his relatively useless preseason appearances). You have to think that since the Bears are readying Trubisky in a sped-up time frame, that he may not get the whole playbook from which to operate. In addition, you may see a heavy reliance on the Chicago running game—which for the Bears is not necessarily a bad thing.
The Bears’ running back tandem of Jordan Howard and rookie Tarik Cohen (he’s averaging six yards per carry and is Chicago’s leading receiver with 24 catches) has been the bright spot on the team so far this season. In the Bears two best games (a win over the Pittsburgh Steelers and a near win over the Atlanta Falcons), the offense stuck with the run and it paid off, as the pair rushed for an average of 168 yards per game. When the Bears got down early in their two blowout losses, Howard and Cohen rushed for only 48.5 yards rushing per game. The offense relied on Glennon to bail them out and it didn’t happen.
Perhaps the threat of a young gunslinger in Trubisky will keep the Bears in the game longer, and keep their rushing game vital. But that, too, depends on the defense, which has been good but not exactly lights out. They don’t give up many yards (ranked eighth in the league at 306.3 yards allowed per game) but they do give up plenty of points (ranked 27 with 26.0 points allowed per game). Although plenty of that must be shouldered by Glennon and the offense, who have turned the ball over quite often this season (10 times, tied at the top for most in the league). Ultimately, the Bears defense will need to be on point to stop a decent Vikings offense.
Speaking of the Vikings offense, some changes are in the offing. We don’t know who the quarterback will be yet—and perhaps the best news will be that Bradford is ready to go, meaning ready to play like he did in the opener against New Orleans (27 of 32 for 346 yards and three touchdowns). Perhaps the mystery of who the Vikings will start gives them some advantage in forcing Chicago to prepare for both Bradford and Case Keenum, the starter of the Vikings past three games, where the Vikings went 1-2.
What we do know about the Vikings offense is that it was dealt a serious blow last weekend when rookie running back Dalvin Cook was lost for the season with an ACL tear. Latavius Murray will replace him, along with an increased role for Jerick McKinnon (who had a rough game last week against the Detroit Lions). The loss of Cook is substantial, and we will find out just how substantial on Monday night.
Perhaps it means more reliance on the passing game for Minnesota (actually there is no perhaps about it). And, so, in a piece of good news for the Vikings this week, wide receiver Michael Floyd is coming off his four-game suspension and will make his debut in his hometown Vikings-Purple uniform. As you may recall, the Vikings picked up Floyd in free agency and his off-field troubles have kept him off the field thus far this season. But Floyd is more than ready to resume his NFL career.
“I’m going to be an aggressive player,” Floyd told the Pioneer Press. “I’m going to go out there and make plays. That’s what I do.”
To what extent he will get to do that still remains to be seen, as the Vikings passing game has been lights out this season with Stefon Diggs and Adam Thielen combining to be, arguably, the best receiver tandem in the league. Floyd will have to insinuate himself into an already well-oiled passing attack (no matter who has been playing quarterback for the Vikings) that has completed only nine passes to wideouts other than digs and Thielen (Laquon Treadwell has five and Jarius Wright, four).
But even more weapons in the passing game should play into the Vikings hands, as the Bears defense is tougher against the run (ranked sixth) than the pass (ranked 15th). This could be an all-pass game by the Vikings offense and all-run game by the Bears offense.
In the final analysis, Glennon is gone, and Trubisky is in—and the Bears are on a reset, offensively. It will be imperative for defensive end Everson Griffen (five sacks in four games) and the rest of defense to get home in the Bears’ backfield and rattle the rookie. The Bears have been tough at home this season (and we know the Vikings are never very tough when they go to Soldier Field), but if they can welcome Trubisky to the NFL with some early hits and a few sacks—and, most importantly, stop the run—the Vikings should come away with a win. A win in the NFC North divisional race that they sorely need.
Minnesota—24, Chicago—13