MNF Chicago Bears at Minnesota Vikings Preview: Five questions with the enemy

The Minnesota Vikings has exceeded everyone’s expectations this year. The Chicago Bears haven’t exceeded anyone’s expectations this year.

Tonight’s Monday Night Football matchup is two division rivals going in opposite directions. The Vikings have won six in a row. The Bears have lost seven in a row. Will Monday night’s matchup change any of that? We sat down with Christopher Gates of the Daily Norseman to discover why things continue to hum in Minneapolis.

1. With the Vikings now 11-2, it’s fair to say they’re not going to fade. They may not win the division thanks to the 12-1 Lions, but with how well the Vikings are playing, what type of playoff run will they need for this to be considered a successful season? Or would it be a success even if they were bounced in the wildcard round?

I think it’s already been a successful season for the Vikings, at least relative to preseason expectations. Heading into the season, most sportsbooks out there had the Vikings’ win total over/under somewhere between 5.5 and 6.5, so they’ve already far surpassed that. Given that this was largely seen as a throw-in season while the Vikings sorted out their pitching situation and prepared for the JJ McCarthy era, I think it’s impossible to argue that this hasn’t been a successful campaign. Of course, if it ends with anything but one Super Bowl it will be disappointing, but 31 out of 32 teams finish each year with disappointment. A deep playoff run would be fun, but even if they get bounced early, I think there’s a lot to like about what’s happened this season and the direction the team is headed.

2. With the Bears looking for a new head coach, the names everyone keeps mentioning are Mike Vrabel and Ben Johnson, but one name that comes up from time to time is Brian Flores. Flores has been great as the Vikings defensive coordinator, but what do you think about Flores returning to head coaching after never getting the offense right in Miami?

Honestly, I’m not sure how good the odds are of Flores becoming a head coach again as long as he has an active lawsuit against the NFL. He couldn’t even get an interview last season after bringing the Vikings’ defense back from the dead (even though they slumped after dealing with a bunch of injuries), but I just don’t see any NFL owners willing to to give him the head coaching spot as long as he sues the league. I definitely think he deserves another shot at a head coaching gig given what happened between him and the ownership in Miami, but I also kind of selfishly want him to stay in Minnesota as long as he wants to be here. If he ends up getting a head coaching job again, whether it’s in Chicago or elsewhere, I think he’d end up finding himself a solid offensive coordinator to handle things.

3. I don’t think it’s fair to call the middle of Sam Darnold’s season a slump, but it wasn’t quite as sharp as it was at the beginning of the season, but he seems to have regained his form again the last couple. weeks. Is there talk of Sam Darnold returning next year or will they let him go and commit to the rookie in JJ McCarthy?

I’m still of the mindset that if Darnold doesn’t lead the Vikings to the Super Bowl this season, there’s very little chance he’ll be back with Minnesota next season. He’s quickly pricing himself out of Minnesota’s reach, and after six seasons of going through the Kirk Cousins ​​contract cycle, I don’t see Kwesi Adofo-Mensah being all that willing to put this team back into a similar cycle with Darnold. The Vikings stand to have a ton of salary cap space heading into 2025, even with the Justin Jefferson and Christian Darrisaw extensions already taken care of, and I think they’ll have the opportunity to build this team around their philosophy, including having the benefit of a quarterback on a rookie contract. If Darnold takes the Vikings to the Super Bowl, all bets are off, but other than that, I’m confident Sam Darnold will get a ton of money to start somewhere else in 2025.

4. You asked me this question last time and I really liked it, so I will ask you this question this time. If you could take any player from the Chicago Bears roster, other than Jaylon Johnson, and add him to the Vikings roster, who would it be and why?

I would probably have to go with Gervon Dexter Sr. as my choice. The Vikings have been much better on the defensive line than they expected to be, but they still don’t get much of a pass rush from the interior. I think a player like Dexter would be able to rotate into the Vikings’ front in obvious passing situations and provide the kind of push up the middle that they don’t really get on a regular basis. It would be interesting to see how Brian Flores would use a player with his skill set in this defense. I was also thinking Rome Odunze for this one, even though the Vikings are pretty solid at the receiver spot, but I think Dexter would be my top pick.

5. The Bears have lost seven straight, the Vikings are humming and the point spread is a full touchdown. With this game in Minnesota, do you think the point spread should be even wider? How do you think this one will play out?

I hate to predict a blowout win in a divisional matchup, but it looks like things are shaping up that way in this one. Last week against San Francisco, from the parts of the game I saw, it looks like there are plenty of players for the Bears who have checked out for the year, and the offense under Thomas Brown still looks a little rough. I know the last game between these two teams had some drama and ended up being decided by a field goal, but the Bears have taken a few gut punches since then, including the odd loss on Thanksgiving, the firing of Matt Eberflus and blowing out last week. The Vikings know what’s at stake in this one and I don’t think Kevin O’Connell will let off the gas or anything like that. The seven point spread is pretty big, but I think the Vikings will cover it as long as they play their game like they have in their current win streak.