The Chicago Bears defense is riding a five-takeaway high last Monday against the Washington Redskins. That’ll come in handy when division rivals the Minnesota Vikings roll into town on Sunday.
While the Vikings (2-1) have a formidable run game, the Bears’ (2-1) defense knows how they need to attack Minnesota’s offense.
Here are three keys for the Bears’ defense in Sunday’s Week 4 contest versus the Vikings.
1. Stop Dalvin Cook and Vikings’ run game
The Bears’ gameplan is simple: Stop Dalvin Cook and the Vikings’ run game. If the Bears can do that, the rest is golden. Although, it’ll be easier said than done.
Cook has tallied three straight 100-yard rushing games to start the season against the Falcons, Packers and Raiders. Cook leads the NFL in rushing after three games with 375 yards and he has four touchdowns.
But it’s not just Cook the Bears need to worry about, although he certainly tops the list. Minnesota also has rookie Alexander Mattison, who is a nice complement to Cook.
Luckily for Chicago they have a pretty good run defense. The Bears rank fifth in the league allowing 68.7 yards per game, and they haven’t allowed a rushing touchdown this season.
If the Bears can stop — or least contain — Cook and Minnesota’s run game, they can make the Vikings’ offense one-dimensional and put the game in QB Kirk Cousins’ hands, which is exactly what they want.
2. Pressure Kirk Cousins
If the Bears can stop the Vikings’ run game, it’ll be open season on QB Kirk Cousins, who still has nightmares about Khalil Mack coming after him. Would the Bears have it any other way?
If Cousins is forced to sit back there and make plays, Chicago’s defense will bring the pressure on a quarterback that during his short time in Minnesota has been sacked 42 times and fumbled 13 times. Music to Khalil Mack’s ears.
The Bears have 11 sacks in the first three games, along with six takeaways, with five of those coming last Monday against the Vikings. Chicago has four interceptions (two apiece by Kyle Fuller and Ha Ha Clinton-Dix) and two fumble recoveries, and they’ll certainly be looking to add to those numbers facing this Vikings offense.
3. Make big plays, force turnovers
The strength of this Bears team is its defense and the unit’s ability to take control and carry the team on its back at times.
Last week against the Redskins, the Bears’ defense forced five turnovers, including a Ha Ha Clinton-Dix pick-six. Three of those five turnovers led to scores for the offense, including two touchdowns and a field goal.
The Bears will need to force more turnovers and come up with big stops on defense to keep the pressure off the Bears’ offense.
As Chicago’s offense looks to build on the tempo established against the Redskins, they can use all the help they can get when facing a dominant defense in the Vikings. The Bears’ defense can take over games, and this is a game that they need to take over.
