On Monday night, the Chicago Bears face division rivals Minnesota Vikings, who are seeking their third straight win.
The last time the Bears played in the most-watched game of the week they lost to the Rams. Could this be another Monday night horror show for the Bears?
Former Bears offensive lineman James “Big Cat” Williams weighs in on that and fans rushing the field after a Notre Dame win.
Williams has three key takes on the game against the Minnesota Vikings.
1. We all thought the defense was going to be the driving force behind the team this season, but we had no idea that the offense was going to struggle to put points on the board the way they have. The defense has to come up with more takeaways. And not only force the takeaway, but be able to score on those takeaways as well. Multiple times players have been in situations where they have been in the right place at the right time but unable to execute. They are going to need to complete the process and put the ball in the end zone.
2. Offensively, the Bears have not done much right. Overthrown passes to open receivers. Dropped passes. Missed blocks and penalties are just some of the things we’ve seen too much of the last nine weeks. These things fall on the players shoulders and they are things that can be fixed. Coach Matt Nagy also has to understand what and who he’s working with. It’s not a slap in the face to simplify things. For instance, if you could go into a game with only three or four run-blocking schemes that everyone feels confident in running against any front that the Vikings could put in front of them. You can be creative with the dressings like formations, shifts and motions, but the meat of it is the same. Run more of what I consider the Gary Crowton offense we saw at the start of the Titans game. It not only simplifies things, it also allows players to get more practice reps during the week at running particular plays.
3. Points are so hard to come by for the Bears offensively and I understand you want six points, but sometimes three is OK. The Bears kicker Cairo Santos has done pretty well this season. Just last week, to start the third quarter we saw them complete a 7-yard pass on third and eight to get them to the Titans 31-yard line, which would have been a 48-yard field goal attempt. But instead, fourth and one turns into a fourth and eleventh after two illegal motion penalties. And now they are out of field goal range and forced to punt. Santos is 15-17 on field goals – his longest is a 55-yard kick. If he makes it, it’s a10-3 game with a lot of time remaining and something to build on.
Prediction: Bears 17, Vikings 24
