The Bears success against Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins last season started with a virtual shutdown of the Vikings running game.
Dalvin Cook rushed for 31 yards on 16 carries in the two games and Cousins was unable to pull his team out of the muck. The Bears won 25-20 at Soldier Field and 24-10 at U.S. Bank Stadium — winning the NFC North and preventing the Vikings from making the playoffs.
Though you can’t argue with the process or the results, replicating that feat might not be so easy this time. The Vikings have fortified their offensive line, made a concerted effort to enhance their running game to take the onus off Cousins and can’t complain about the results.
Cook has been their biggest weapon in a 2-1 start. With 100-yard games against the Falcons (21-111, 2 touchdowns), Packers (20-154, 1) and Raiders (16-100, 1), Cook leads the NFL with 375 rushing yards, 6.6 yards per carry and four touchdowns.
Nobody has stopped him yet. But that’s just the challenge the Bears’ defense relishes. The Bears led the NFL in rushing defense last season (fourth in yards per carry) and allowed an NFL-low five rushing touchdowns. They know how to do stop a red-hot runner.
“Play better defense,” linebacker Danny Trevathan said. “Stop the run. Gap sound. Being smart. Take on the blocker. Not one-for-one. Not trading yourself up. Never saying you’re out of the play. This is football. The ground game. This is how football started. If you’re not hyped for that, then you’re in the wrong place.”
In case it’s not obvious, players like Trevathan and defenses like the Bears take these challenges personally.
“Any time somebody tries to run the ball at the crib here [Soldier Field], I’ll take that as a challenge,” Trevathan said. “I take pride in run [defense]. I’m not one to talk trash and get in the media’s face and say, ‘Y’all come here.’ But [if you] come in here, you better play ball.”
The Bears’ run defense under Chuck Pagano has been solid. They are allowing 68.7 yards per game (fifth in the NFL) and 3.1 yards per rush (fourth). But Cook presents a challenge of another level. He already has nine rushes of 10 yards or more, including a 75-yard touchdown against the Packers. The Bears allowed an NFL-low 28 rushes for 10 or more yards all season last year.
“Dalvin Cook is one hell of a back,” Bears safety Ha Ha Clinton-Dix said. “It’s hard to bring him down. We have to do a good job of getting him on the ground. We’re going to have to stop the run and make those guys throw the ball.”
That worked last year, when the Bears held Cook to 12 yards on nine rushes (and the Vikings to 22 yards on 14 rushes) at Soldier Field. In the rematch at U.S. Bank Stadium, Cook rushed for 39 yards on 11 carries.
The Vikings upgraded their offensive line by signing former Titans guard Josh Kline and drafting center Garrett Bradbury in the first round. Nose tackle Eddie Goldman, the acknowledged anchor of the Bears’ run defense, is one of the best in the NFL and will put the rookie to the test.
But if Akiem Hicks (knee) can’t play, Cook has a better chance to do some damage. “When he gets to the linebackers and the secondary, he turns into a different kind of runner,” defensive end Nick Williams said. “I think he grows about three inches and puts on about 20 pounds.”
The Bears defense, though, lives for these challenges. In the biggest marquee matchup vs. a top-flight runner last year, they held the Rams’ Todd Gurley to 28 yards on 11 carries in a 15-6 victory.
The Vikings are that kind of challenge with Cook on a roll.
“We tip our hat to them,” Trevathan said. “They’re the No. 1 rushing offense. We’re the No. 1 rushing defense. We’ll see them on Sunday.”
