Chicago Bears: How to beat the Minnesota Vikings

Block, Tempo and Balance

What the Chicago Bears need to do against the Vikings defense is very similar to what they did last Monday against Washington. The Vikings have a strong defensive front. Danielle Hunter and Everson Griffen are one of the best bookends in the NFL. Linval Joseph is a strong interior presence. The Bears offensive line needs to play well and keep Trubisky off his back.

The line needs to communicate better. The penalties need to stop. The key matchups will be the tackles on the outside. Bobby Massie and Charles Leno Jr. are in for a tough day. Hunter and Griffen have five sacks on the season. The inside will not have it easy either. Joseph has two sacks of his own. If the offensive line cannot keep Trubisky upright, the Bears will likely lose this game.

Another way to help with this is to keep the tempo moving as they did against Washington. Trubisky plays better when he has less time to overthink. He is able to get into a rhythm and when he starts to hit his targets, 80 percent completion percentage games with multiple touchdown passes happen.

Watching the film on the previous Vikings games, some things stood out to me. Quick slants and running back screens opened up the running game. Then play-action opened up the passing game. Oakland was able to expose the middle with their tight end. Darren Waller was able to gain 134 yards on 13 receptions. Trey Burton needs to show up on offense this week, especially with Taylor Gabriel out with a concussion.

The Vikings also gave up 107 yards to Davante Adams when facing the Packers. Although I do not see Allen Robinson having that much success in yardage, I think he finds the end zone. The Vikings have given up five touchdowns to wide receivers. One went to Julio Jones and another to Tyrell Williams, both the number one receiver for their respective teams.

If the Bears can keep a balanced attack with precision strikes and Mitchell Trubisky takes what the defense gives them, the team should be able to do just enough to win a close battle on Sunday.