The
Chicago Bears defense had one of their best games of the season last week against the Houston Texans. Unfortunately, it seems to have come at a price.
Jaylon Johnson, their terrific rookie cornerback who has played well all season, left the game with a shoulder injury. Head coach Matt Nagy expressed hope he might be able to play.
However, as the week went on Johnson did not practice. Even so, he was declared questionable for Sunday in a huge matchup against the Minnesota Vikings. Those hopes are now dashed. The Bears downgraded Johnson's status to OUT. This means he will not play in what is easily the most pivotal game of the year. This
against a passing attack featuring two stud receivers in Adam Thielen and rookie Justin Jefferson.
A tough loss no matter how anybody looks at it.
This is the second
loss on the back end the Bears have suffered. They were already playing without veteran nickel corner Buster Skrine who is still dealing with a concussion. This forced second-year man Duke Shelley into the lineup. Now they'll be forced to start another rookie in Kindle Vildor to fill the void left by Johnson.
Vildor was a 5th round pick back in April. The Bears were big fans of his coming out of Georgia Southern. Somebody with good size and athleticism to go along with a gritty toughness that showed up a lot in coverage. They probably weren't expecting him to see the field this soon. To date he's only been targeted once this season, allowing a 15-yard completion.
Expect that number to rise significantly on Sunday.
Chicago Bears defense can do it alone this time
In the last meeting they and the special teams nearly pulled it off but Minnesota managed to pull ahead late for a 19-13 victory. The offense managed just six points on the evening. Expecting this secondary to hold that passing attack in check is asking too much. Chicago needs the offense to pull its weight this time around. Can they do it?
The good news is the guys on that side of the ball are playing much better lately. They've scored 30 and 34 points respectively in the past two games. David Montgomery wasn't available in the first meeting against the Vikings. He'll start this time around and has arguably been the Bears' best player for the past three weeks.
As always it will come down to Mitch Trubisky.
The 26-year old quarterback has really played well since returning from the bench last month. He's thrown seven touchdowns to just two interceptions. He seems to be playing with more determination and focus than ever. Of course, the questionable competition has probably helped him along the way. Minnesota figures to be a stiffer test.
They've given Trubisky headaches for years. To date, he's never posted a passer rating in the 90s or higher against Mike Zimmer's defense. It would be quite a time for him to deliver his first. Coming to the rescue of a Chicago Bears defense that has bailed him out many times in the past.
