Chicago Bears: One area the Minnesota Vikings will try to exploit

As the Chicago Bears get set to take on the Minnesota Vikings, there is one area that could be cause for concern for Chicago.

It goes without saying that this Sunday’s game against the Minnesota Vikings is a huge one for the Chicago Bears. They certainly don’t want to start the year off by losing their first two divisional games at home, especially with a shot to go into the bye week at 4-1 if they can take care of business against the Oakland Raiders.

However, the Bears will come into this game a little more banged up than they have been in the Matt Nagy era. Eddy Pineiro is dealing with a pinched nerve in his knee, and Eddie Jackson is dealing with a shoulder issue. But those aren’t the injuries that should worry Bears fans for this game. Rather, it’s the injuries to Bilal Nichols and Akiem Hicks that could be problematic based on what the Vikings like to do.

Let’s start with what the Bears defense does well. Franky, they do just about everything well, but one area where they really excel is in the running game. They’re only yielding 68.7 yards per game, which is good for fifth-best in the league.

Taking it a step further, they’re particularly good against the run to the right end, middle (right guard, middle, left guard), left tackle, and left end, where they are yielding -0.60, 4.08, 3.90, and 2.53 yards per rush respectively according to footballoutsiders.com.

The one area they are yielding the most yards is when opposing teams run at the right tackle. Opposing offenses have caught on and have focused their runs at the right tackle (10 total runs), straight up the middle (10 total runs), and the left tackle (21 total runs).

Opposing offenses have recognized this and have opted for a more pass-heavy attack against the Bears (67 run plays vs. 132 pass plays according to nflsavant.com).

However, that’s not necessarily what the Vikings like to do while on offense. So far this year, they have run the ball 101 times (third-most in the league) compared to just 71 passes (fewest in the league) according to nflsavant.com.

Again, diving a little deeper, they have had the most success running at the left end (6.74 yards per rush) and right tackle (5.01 yards per rush). The right tackle spot is already the Bears weakest area in the run game (5.01 yards per rush). While the left end spot is tough sledding (2.53 yards per rush) the absence of Nichols and potentially Akiem Hicks could leave vulnerable an area where the Vikings have excelled this season.

What’s more, is that the Vikings have two backs they employ successfully, each bringing a different skill set to the table. Obviously Dalvin Cook is the more elusive speedster and will see the bulk of the carries, but Alexander Mattison is more of a power back who has also had a decent start to his rookie campaign, averaging 5.3 yards per attempt on 25 carries.

I expect the Vikings to try to wear out the Bears potentially thin defensive line with a combination of Cook and Mattison while looking to pick their spots in the passing game if the Bears are forced to slide help down into the box to stop the run. This could potentially open up the deep pass (assuming Ha Ha Clinton-Dix or Eddie Jackson slides down) or the middle of the field (assuming the linebackers have to hold an extra step to play the run before dropping into coverage).

In other words, the Bears desperately need Hicks to be healthy for this Sunday’s game, or it could be death by 1,000 paper cuts on Sunday.