This You Gotta See: Bears, Bulls sitting at the same intersection? Allow us to explain

The Bears were a disaster on offense the first time they faced the Vikings. | Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images

Some of us are old enough to remember a time when Matt Nagy’s Bears had never been bested by the rival Vikings, not even once. It all came crashing down in a spectacular heap, of course, five weeks ago in a 19-13 debacle at Soldier Field.

How bad was it? The Bears offense mustered all of 32 yards in the second half. Quarterback Nick Foles was carted off the field late. With a fourth straight loss, the team’s season was up in flames.

“Eventually,” Nagy said, not at all convincingly, “something here will hopefully change.”

Well, it kind of has. The Bears actually won a game last week, leaving them at 6-7 heading into Sunday’s rematch at 6-7 Minnesota. Each team trails the Cardinals by one game in the race for the final NFC East wild-card spot.

In other news, the Bulls’ season — one of major transition — launches this week. With Arturas Karnisovas now pulling the strings and Billy Donovan in the coach’s chair, palpable improvement is expected. This, despite the fact no players of real note were added to the mix aside from enticing rookie Patrick Williams.

Think of the Bears and Bulls as having arrived at the same intersection, only facing in different directions. One team is hoping it has enough gas in the tank to reach a destination beyond Game 16; the other is hoping it has the wiring and juice to speed ahead to newfound relevance.

Bring on the kickoff. And the tipoff. Here’s what’s happening:

SUN 20

College Football Playoff Selection Show (11 a.m., ESPN)

Let’s take a wild stab at it, shall we? Alabama and the rest of the usual suspects. Rinse, repeat.

Bears at Vikings (noon, Fox-32)

One must admit, Mitch Trubisky’s impression of an NFL QB in last week’s 36-7 rout of the Texans was pretty spot-on. If he does it again, we might have to have a half-serious conversation about his future.

Illini big man Cockburn has been crushing it.

Illinois at Rutgers (noon, ESPN2)

The Scarlet Knights are legit, but the Illini are big boys now. And on that note: Don’t stop eating now, Kofi Cockburn.

Chiefs at Saints (3:25 p.m., Ch. 2)

A Super Bowl preview? Not if Drew Brees takes any more wicked rib shots. Look, we all get more fragile with age.

Michigan State at Northwestern (6 p.m., BTN)

Opening Big Ten play against the Spartans is kind of like that time your older brother snuck up behind you and shoved you into the deep end of the pool. Seriously, why did he have to do that?

MON 21

Bulls Season Preview Special (6:30 p.m., NBCSCH)

Does Lauri Markkanen have a roaring fire in his belly? Has Zach LaVine fallen in love with defense? Is Donovan the next Phil Jackson, only better? Let’s see what we find out.

Steelers at Bengals (7:15 p.m., ESPN)

The Steelers are 11-2. The Bengals are the Bengals. You do the math.

TUE 22

The Nets’ Durant is back at it.

Warriors at Nets (6 p.m., TNT)

Stephen Curry is back from injury. Former teammate Kevin Durant is, too. The NBA’s opening night was made for these two dudes to shine.

Clippers at Lakers (9 p.m., TNT)

The Clippers are so good. How good? So good, their own house has another team’s banners hanging everywhere. Man, that must be annoying.

WED 23

Hawks at Bulls (7 p.m., NBCSCH)

Speaking of season openers, let’s do this thing. Are we the only ones picturing Jim Boylen in his living room, gesturing wildly at the TV for a timeout with 32 seconds to go and the Bulls down 14?

Western Illinois at DePaul (8 p.m., FS1)

The Blue Demons already have reached double digits in games postponed or canceled due to COVID-19 trouble. Any chance this long-delayed debut actually happens?

FRI 25

Pelicans at Heat (11 a.m., ESPN)

Zion Williamson has lost 25 pounds since last season. Clearly, he didn’t spend any time quarantining at our house.

Vikings at Saints (3:30 p.m., Fox-32, NFLN)

What’s this? The NFL on a Friday? Merry Christmas, everybody.

Mavericks at Lakers (7 p.m., Ch. 7, ESPN)

The betting favorite for MVP is Mavs guard Luka Doncic. The betting favorite for who will be all up in his grill defensively if it’s close in the last two minutes is LeBron James. Please let this matchup happen.

SAT 26

Buccaneers at Lions (noon, NFLN)

What has Tom Brady really ever accomplished, anyway? Ford Field surely shall be the site of his inglorious fall.

Indiana at Illinois (3 p.m., FS1)

The Hoosiers have won seven of the last nine in the head-to-head series, but the tables have turned. At least we think they’ve turned.

49ers at Cardinals (3:30 p.m., Amazon Prime)

Find this strangely not-on-regular-TV game and root for the visitors like nobody’s watching. And let’s face it, nobody who has to ask what Amazon Prime is will be watching.