NFL
By Steve Rogers
Can or should the Minnesota Vikings petition the league to play the remainder of the 2025 season on the road? The Vikings came home from Detroit after playing one of their best most complete games of the year and upsetting the Lions to come out and look like the away team last week in US BANK STADIUM versus the Baltimore Ravens. The Vikings beat themselves with penalties. The offense alone had 8 false starts. That’s playing behind the chains way too much.
The good news is that these are all correctable and fixable fundamental flaws. The Vikings should be able to iron out the kinks in their offensive communication, as JJ McCarthy’s cadence seemed to be at least part of the issue. Having the same set of healthy players to get the necessary practice reps from last week to this week should also help.
In fact, there are only two players who are officially listed as out this week and those are tight end Josh Oliver and linebacker Jonathan Greenard. The other notable injury news is that the Vikings have opened the 21-day window for center Ryan Kelly to return. Head coach Kevin O’Connell was very optimistic about the progress Kelly has made this week having been at least a limited participant all week. O’Connell also said that they have had a plan for Kelly to return by next week’s game against the Green Bay Packers.
Back to the matter at hand. That’s how do the Vikings beat the Bears? Well firstly by figuring out how to not beat themselves first with costly pre-snap offensive penalties. I know I’m beating a dead horse here but eight false starts in one game!?! At home is inexcusable. If the Vikings can clean up their own miscues or self-inflicteds as head coach O’Connell calls them.
Step two is utilizing the healthy factor. As the Vikings are coming into this game as healthy as they have been all year. The Bears will be without defensive end Dayo Odeyingbo who is on IR with an Achilles injury. They will be without starting CB Jaylon Johnson who’s out with a groin injury. Also out on the defensive side is linebacker T.J. Edwards. With a hand injury. The defensive hits continue potentially with safety Jaquan Brisker questionable with a back injury.
The Vikings’ wide receivers should have a field day with all these missing players from the Bears’ secondary. Could this be a recipe for the returns of Justin Jefferson’s “Savage Mode”? As well as the reemergence of quarterback JJ McCarthy’s alter ego “9”? No time like the present.
The next step is to get the running game going. By any means necessary. That means utilizing both Aaron Jones Sr and Jordan Mason. Now keep the run game going through to the quarterback as well. By no means do I think he is or should try to run as much as Josh Allen but they do have similar rushing numbers through their first four NFL starts. Give the wide receivers Jordan Addison and Jalen Nailor aka “speedy” the ball on some jet sweeps. The Bears are ranked 26th against the run. If the Vikings can get the running game rolling early it might spell disaster for the Bears.
There is a special historical factor to this game as well. Vikings 14-year veteran safety Harrison “Harry the Hittman” Smith will be playing in his 200th career NFL game. All while wearing #22 in purple as a Minnesota Viking. Smith is joining some of the most famous names in Vikings history like Scot Studwell Mick Tingelhoff Hall of Famer Carl Eller and the legend Jim Marshall ( who is still somehow not in the HOF?). Smith has Hall of Fame numbers on his own really the only thing missing from cementing his status is a Lombardi trophy. Can the Vikings ” win one for the Gipper!”? In this case, win one for Smith. If the Vikings can play a complete all three phases complementary game like they did in Detroit two weeks ago they can definitely handle the Bears who they’ve already beaten in Chicago back in week one. The Vikings are only 2.5-point favorites this week. I think it’s safe to take the over this week. The final score will be the Vikings rolling 34- 17.
