Vikings faithful, let me know if you also have this problem or if I’m the weird one.
What’s your favorite memory from a Minnesota Vikings game at Soldier Field?
In comparison, I can think of lots of recent memories in Green Bay. Kirk Cousins to Adam Thielen beating double coverage in 2018, Brett Favre sweeping his former team in 2009, or Minnesota’s first shutout in Lambeau in 2017. Lots of plays, both good and bad, immediately come to mind.
My only memories of Soldier Field are of sloppy, frustrating play against an equally sloppy, frustrating team. That stadium seems to foster that game script. The bones of that place want every game to devolve into a 13-10 brawl. That’s how I’d describe the rivalry between these two teams: Nothing ever goes according to plan, and it’s a test of patience and resilience to the bitter end.
However, Kevin O’Connell and his 2024 Vikings should feel right at home in a slopfest. They’re 3-0 in those games this year. The Vikings beat the three-win New York Jets on a rainy day in London. Then, in back-to-back weeks, they have played teams that fit the Bears profile.
The Jacksonville Jaguars and Tennessee Titans are sad, downtrodden franchises with sloppy, disorganized offenses. Tennessee is even closer to Chicago’s DNA, touting an excellent defense desperately trying to keep a moribund offense afloat. The Jaguars and Titans seemed to drag Minnesota down into the mud. Both times, O’Connell’s squad showed resilience and a culture of winning, which was the difference in those games.
The Bears are a natural progression of the past two weeks. The Mac Jones-led Jaguars were about as bad as they come, and Minnesota managed to win despite Sam Darnold’s worst game of the season. Will Levis‘ Titans were feisty and made a few big plays. However, they ultimately fell back into the dysfunction they’ve shown all season.
Enter the final boss of this three-game road stint. Caleb Williams’ Bears are desperate to unlock the potential so many hoped they’d see in them in the preseason but have yet to deliver upon.
What people called the best situation ever for a rookie QB in the preseason has turned out to be far from it. Shane Waldron ended up being a disaster hire. He was an even worse version of the coach Seattle Seahawks fans were happy to see walk. The offensive line has been near the bottom of the league, leaving Williams to run for his life and fall into bad habits. Keenan Allen, star D.J. Moore, and top-10 rookie Rome Odunze were supposed to buoy Williams. Instead, it has produced a passing game in the bottom third of the league in passing yards and touchdowns.
They’re coming into this game with their first signs of life in the better part of a month. If not for an inexplicable blocked kick, the Bears would’ve won their first game over the Green Bay Packers in almost six years. Williams had one of his cleanest performances as a pro because interim offensive play caller Thomas Brown managed to get his rookie QB in a rhythm for the first time all season.
But while they try to put the pieces together in time to take on this relentless Flores defense, their real mission is to drag Darnold and the Vikings offense down to their level.
Turnovers, red-zone miscues, and bad situational football have plagued Minnesota’s offense the past two weeks, even while they’ve had excellent production on a down-to-down basis.
Minnesota’s yardage and yards per play have been great, yet they haven’t exploded on the scoreboard. Against Jacksonville, it was red-zone turnovers; against Tennessee, it was inconsistency on third down. Chicago will be hoping they can replicate elements of both.
Darnold vs. Williams will be a battle of which player can stay clean amidst all the muck. Who will continue to bounce back when inevitable mistakes happen? Keeping a short memory and continuing to press on amidst adversity will likely decide this matchup.
Despite not playing their best football, Minnesota has a great chance to finish this road stretch 3-0. And Minnesota has a thing that Jacksonville, Tennessee, and Chicago don’t: culture. Kevin O’Connell has established a winning culture that has held his team together, even on their bad days, going back to their turbulent season last year.
It sounds like fluff and coach speak, but they believe. I trust this team to win a dogfight better than any Vikings team in recent memory, and they’ll likely need that toughness again on Sunday.
