The struggling Chicago Bears take on the Minnesota Vikings at Soldier Field

CHICAGO — The Minnesota Vikings understand that the Chicago Bears are trying to keep a season that is slipping away from falling completely out of reach.

Forgive them for being a little cautious.

“This league is about response, and when you have teams that go through situations like that, the test of adversity, it’s always about response,” safety Josh Metellus said. “This could make or break them.”

The Vikings (8-2) hope to “crack” the Bears (4-6) and perhaps gain ground in the NFC North on Sunday in a matchup between teams headed in opposite directions.

Minnesota enters with three straight wins after beating Tennessee 23-13 last week as Sam Darnold threw for two touchdowns and ran for a score. The Vikings are trying to catch first place Detroit (9-1) and stay ahead of Green Bay (7-3) in a tight division. The Lions visit Indianapolis on Sunday, while the Packers host San Francisco.

The last-place Bears are reeling from four straight losses after falling 20-19 to Green Bay at Soldier Field last week.

They were able to end a 10-game losing streak to their rivals, only to let the lead slip away in the final minutes. They fell short when Cairo Santos’ 46-yard field goal was blocked as time expired, their second loss in a last-second game in the last four weeks. The streak started when Jayden Daniels and the Washington Commanders beat them on a Hail Mary.

On the plus side for Chicago, the offense had a better flow against Green Bay in Thomas Brown’s first game as coordinator after Shane Waldron was fired. No. 1 draft pick Caleb Williams bounced back, throwing for 231 yards and running for a career-high 70 after struggling the previous three weeks.

“There will be tough times, tough areas during the long healthy career I hopefully have,” he said. “It’s not going to change my thinking, and it’s not going to change it now.”

Grounded Vikings

The Vikings had just 33 rushes for 82 yards last week against the Titans, a season-worst average of 2.5 yards per carry. attempts, and they have especially struggled in short-yardage situations this year.

According to Sportradar, the Vikings are the worst team in the NFL in rushing from the 1-yard line with six attempts for a net 5 yards. Their only touchdown in those situations came last week on Darnold’s sneak.

Don’t think running back Aaron Jones hasn’t noticed.

“There after getting back in there,” Jones said. “Talked to my son about it, talked to my mom, everybody. I talk about it to everybody, I’m just trying to talk it into existence, put in the work to get back in there. I miss it. Let’s just Say I miss it so I’ll be back soon.

Heavy losses

The loss to Green Bay was just the latest for Chicago in a long string of close ones during Eberflus’ 2 1/2 seasons. They are 2-4 in one-possession games this year and 5-17 in his tenure.

“The record is not where it needs to be in one-score games, we know that,” Eberflus said. “Again, we’re just so far away, too. A lot of good things happen during those games. We just have to learn to finish better as a group.”

Staying at home

Last week against the Titans, the Vikings stonewalled quarterback Will Levis on five designed runs for a net of 6 yards. He scrambled twice for another 12 yards trying to avoid the pressure that led to five sacks. The Vikings are very wary of the athleticism and elusiveness that Williams has brought to the Bears, a unique dimension that should test their top-ranked run defense.

“His mobility isn’t talked about enough. He can escape the pocket and make a lot of plays with his legs, so we have to rush accordingly and try to contain him in the pocket,” Vikings outside linebacker Andrew Van Ginkel said. “You don’t want to rush scared, but you sure have to rush smart.”

Smooth operators

The Bears’ used more pass rushes and pre-snap moves against Green Bay, creating some mismatches and giving Williams more time to figure out the defense.

He also got the call played in the helmet faster, giving him more time to figure out what the other team was doing.

It all added up to the Bears finishing with 391 yards and converting 56.3% on third downs. Getting 179 yards rushing didn’t hurt, though the Bears could be a key weapon if running back D’Andre Swift misses the game with a groin injury.

Youngest to 100

Bears linebacker Tremaine Edmunds is going to make history. Assuming he plays Sunday, he will become the youngest NFL player to appear in 100 games — 26 years, 206 days old.