Behind Enemy Lines: Bears Writers Are Skeptical About Their Team’s Chances Against Vikings
The Vikings will take on the Bears tonight. It’s safe to say that it’s yet another massively important game in a season that has been full of supremely important games.
As has become a mini-tradition here at Purple PTSD, I’ve been doing the rounds to take a peak at what writers from other spots are saying about the game. It’s illuminating to see what people without a purple framework are writing. Below is a sampling of some Chicago writer predictions.
Sam Householder suggests the Bears will focus on nullifying the Vikings’ Dalvin Cook:
Cook makes the Vikings offense work as well. He’s the key cog that helps them go and takes pressure off of Kirk Cousins. Cook didn’t play in their loss to the Lions. If Roquan Smith and Akiem Hicks are no goes, it’s going to be up to all the other players to slow Cook down.
Chicago’s best chance is to indeed focus on slowing Cook. When Dalvin is running like he did last Thursday, it’s supremely difficult for Minnesota to lose. An elite Minnesota run game makes the whole team work.
Rob Schwartz Jr. of Bear Goggles On takes the lead on the site’s prediction piece, arguing that Chicago will emerge victorious:
Normally, I wouldn’t think that a Matt Nagy led team could turn things around and win this game, but watching Justin Fields continue to develop versus the Packers has his arrow is continuing to point up. This week, I have a gut feeling that the Bears play disruptor and help push the Vikings further away from that final playoff spot.
Bears Wire brings the opinions of various experts together. Most are leaning toward Minnesota:
There’s not a lot of confidence in Chicago to pull off an upset as 83% of experts are picking the Vikings to beat the Bears on Monday, according to NFL Pick Watch. Which isn’t really a surprise given Minnesota is competing for a playoff spot while Chicago’s season is all but over.
We all know what can happen when almost everyone expects the Vikings to accomplish something. It was a near unanimous belief among experts that the Vikings would take down the Lions; Minnesota failed to do so. So, I suggest you proceed with caution as your guard your expectations. The Vikings should defeat the far inferior Bears team, and yet there are all kind of things that should happen. There’s a reason why the game actually gets played, folks.
I, for one, do believe Minnesota will win tonight. Ideally, that involves a defense that is even better following the Breeland subtraction. The focus ought to be on slowing David Montgomery so that Fields is forced to make plays. If successful, Chicago will likely struggle to score with consistency.
[brid autoplay=”true” video=”927137″ player=”26281″ title=”3%20ideal%20Gardner%20Minshew%20trade%20landing%20spots%20in%202022″ duration=”118″ description=”When the Jacksonville Jaguars drafted Trevor Lawrence, quarterback Gardner Minshew knew he needed a trade to get a better opportunity for starts. Things haven’t quite worked out in 2021 with the Philadelphia Eagles, opening the door for Minshew to play elsewhere in 2022.Minshew is not a franchise-caliber quarterback. But through his first three NFL seasons, it’s become evident that the former sixth-round pick could be on the Ryan Fitzpatrick trajectory. It’s a level of play that would be an upgrade for multiple teams, including playoff contenders. As a result, Minshew’s name will be floated in NFL trade rumors in 2022.Let’s dive into three ideal landing spots for Gardner Minshew.” uploaddate=”2021-12-20″ thumbnailurl=”https://cdn.brid.tv/live/partners/17660/snapshot/927096_s_1639960456063.jpg” contentUrl=”https://cdn.brid.tv/live/partners/17660/streaming/927096/927096.m3u8″]
