The Minnesota Vikings will roll into Soldier Field on Sunday afternoon looking very similar to the Chicago Bears. Both team’s come into week 4 with identical records (2-1, with both losses coming against the Green Bay Packers), a stout defense with playmakers scattered all over the field and a quarterback who provides more questions than answers at this point in the season.
For the Bears on offense, many players will be put to some tough tests with various matchups, but who has the toughest test? Here are the three Bears on offense who have the biggest test awaiting them on Sunday.
1. QB Mitchell Trubisky against Mike Zimmer’s defense
Trubisky finally broke out of his slump on Monday night against the Redskins, tossing three touchdowns and driving the ball downfield for the first time all season. But that performance came against a Washington team that has struggled against the pass all season long.
Trubisky will go back to having a tougher time against Minnesota’s defense. Minnesota’s coach Mike Zimmer and defensive coordinator George Edwards know the QB well and, similarly to the Packers and Broncos gameplan, will force him to stay in the pocket and make throws down the field.
It’s the same story we’ve been hearing for weeks, but it’s worked for the defense in each of their first two games. Will it work again or did Trubisky turn a corner following their win against Washington?
2. OT Bobby Massie against DE Danielle Hunter
Danielle Hunter is no Khalil Mack, but he’s not too far off. A 2018 second-team All-Pro, Hunter has a sack in each of the Vikings first three games and is an effective run defender.
Massie, coming off a bout of vertigo that forced him to miss Monday night’s game against the Redskins, will have his hands full on Sunday afternoon and is tasked with keeping Hunter at bay. Hunter didn’t record a sack in the Vikings two games against the Bears in 2018, totaling nine tackles, three going for a loss, but he’s off to a hot start in 2019.
Massie needs to continue to keep Trubisky upright against Hunter, who is far and away the Vikings’ best edge rusher.
3. WR Allen Robinson against CB Xavier Rhodes
The Bears’ best and most consistent WR has been Allen Robinson through the first three games. He’s caught 17 passes for 203 yards, nearly twice as many catches and yards as the team’s next closest receiver (Taylor Gabriel, nine catches, 110 yards).
He’s Trubisky’s primary target at WR, but with Vikings CB Xavier Rhodes shadowing him, he may be bottled up more often than not. Rhodes is one of the NFLs best shadow corners, matching up with a team’s top receiver wherever they line up on the field.
When the two met last season in week 10, Robinson put up one of his worst games as a Bear, catching three passes for 39 yards on seven targets while Rhodes was on him. To move the ball downfield, Trubisky may need to look at Minnesota’s other CB, Trae Waynes if Rhodes has his way with #12.
