Our Week Five of NFL action wraps up at Soldier Field on Monday Night Football when the Minnesota Vikings (2-2) face off against their old rival, the Chicago Bears (1-3).
As every week, MNF airs on ESPN at 8:30 p.m. I’ll be live blogging this one at here at Get More Sports, so point your computer or mobile device here for my commentary as you watch the game.
The Game: Minnesota Vikings at Chicago Bears (-3)
O/U: 39.5
The History
This is one of the oldest rivalries in the sport, with the Vikings holding a 58-52-2 advantage in their 112 game series.
Last year the teams split their games, with both winning at home. The Bears won 20-10 at Soldier Field and the Vikings won 38-10 at U.S. Bank Stadium.
MINNESOTA VIKINGS (2-2)
Here’s what you really need to know going into this one. Sam Bradford is going to play. He’s officially listed as questionable on the injury report, but he practiced all week and was a full participant in Saturday’s workload. That means no more Case Keenum to take into account when making my picks, and frankly, he will be missed.
Keenum, with the exception of one lights out game, was a guaranteed low scoring, incompletion throwing machine. What will the Vikings get with the Bradford? There’s no way to tell since he’s been out three weeks. He’s a smart guy and he’s accurate, but his last game was against an inept New Orleans defense. The Bears aren’t great, but they aren’t that bad either.
Minnesota also has to recover from the loss of rookie Dalvin Cook for the season with a torn ACL. The kid was ahead of the curve as a first year player among what has already turned out to be an elite 2017 class of running backs. What looked like a waste of free agent money a month ago in Latavius Murray now turns into a Godsend, as the Vikings can put an NFL caliber running back on the field as long as he’s healthy.
Stefon Diggs has been tearing it up all season regardless of who’s playing quarterback for Minnesota and I don’t see that changing. Last week against the Lions he caught five passes for 98 yards. With Bradford, he could in for a big day. Adam Thielan too.
The Vikings defense was all over the Lions last week, sacking Matthew Stafford five times and getting nine stops in the backfield. They face a rookie quarterback Monday night so those numbers could double.
CHICAGO BEARS (1-3)
That’s right, the Mitchell Trubisky era has finally begun for the Bears. What a game to throw this kid to the wolves. That being said. he gives Chicago a much better chance to win (or at least put up points and yards consistently) than Mike Glennon.
Trubisky looked terrific during the preseason and was my No. 2 overall quarterback coming into the draft. I think he’s the real deal and will only be limited by how good the competition he faces this season. The Bears have accidentally given him plenty of the kinds of weapons a young, rookie quarterback needs. Jordan Howard is a solid running back and Bennie Cunningham and Tarik Cohen are great outlets in the passing game. Trubisky should never feel like he has to do too much. Zach Miller is one of the league’s better tight ends.
This is a weak group of receivers, led by former Tennessee Titan Kendall Wright. Wright was supposed to be the No. 3 wideout at best this off-season, but Cameron Meredith and Kevin White both experienced season ending injuries and now sit on injured reserve. Pushing the ball down the field will be tough, but Trubisky will have to take some shots just to keep the Vikings defense honest.
Chicago has some decent players on defense, and a few potential stars. They just don’t have a cohesive unit. Linebacker Danny Trevathan will be forced to sit this one out on a suspension after nearly decapitating Green Bay Packers wide receiver DeVante Adams.
The Pick
It’s too much to ask for Trubisky to be able to push the Bears over the hump in this game against one of the league’s top defensive groups. With a rusty Bradford, this one could be ugly, but I see Minnesota picking up the NFC North victory on the road. Vikings 17, Bears 13
This week
Straight up: 1-0
Against the spread: 1-0
Last week
Straight up: 9-7
Against the spread: 10-6
Season
Straight up: 37-26
Against the spread: 32-31
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