Vikings At Bears Will Be A Chess Match Between Master And Protégé
Credit: Andrew Nelles via Imagn Images
The Minnesota Vikings travel to Soldier Field on Sunday to face off against the Chicago Bears. For the majority of the season, the Bears’ offense has been objectively bad. No. 1 overall pick Caleb Williams has been wildly inefficient as a passer, the offensive line has struggled in pass protection, and the Bears’ rushing attack has been below average. Chicago desperately needed a change on the offensive side of the ball, so two weeks ago they parted ways with offensive coordinator Shane Waldron.
Replacing Waldron is Thomas Brown, who previously served as the Bears’ pass game coordinator. Last week was Brown’s first game as Chicago’s offensive coordinator against the Green Bay Packers, and he did not disappoint. The Bears generated 391 yards of total offense, and if not for a blocked field goal, they would have beaten Green Bay. Although the Bears didn’t win last week, they looked like a much more complete team and put their NFC North rivals on notice.
The Vikings matchup versus the Bears will feature a chess match between a master of his craft and his protege. Kevin O’Connell and Brown coached alongside each other during their time with the Los Angeles Rams under head coach Sean McVay. O’Connell even interviewed Brown for the Vikings offensive coordinator position when he was first hired to be Minnesota’s head coach in 2022.
Jori Epstein published this article back on Thursday showcasing how Brown’s play calling helped Williams last week against the Packers. While I won’t rehash the entire piece here, there were three areas where the Bears excelled which will need to be a point of emphasis for the Minnesota Vikings heading into this matchup. Those three keys include getting stops on third downs, controlling the time of possession, and confining Williams inside the pocket.
Green Bay fell asleep at the wheel when it came to playing with gap discipline out on the edge. In the first half alone, Williams rushed for 60 yards against a Packers defense that didn’t quite take him seriously. While Williams is no Justin Fields, he loves making plays outside of structure, which is something this Vikings defense, which has struggled against mobile quarterbacks in the past, must look out for.
Minnesota has played a lot of good quarterbacks this season, but I can’t think of a single signal-caller they’ve played so far this season that relies on making plays outside the pocket the way Williams does. For better or worse, he has a penchant for playing hero ball, which has been very effective as of late now that he has an offensive coordinator in Brown who is simplifying things and allowing him to make quick reads.
The Bears’ offense was also very effective converting on third downs, going 9-of-16 against a Packers defense that is usually pretty good when it comes to getting third-down stops. Prior to the Bears game, Green Bay ranked 13th in the league in opponents’ third-down conversion percentage. Meanwhile, Minnesota ranks eighth in the NFL in that category, but the Packers proved that if you don’t take your opponent seriously, then those rankings don’t really matter.
Finally, it’s crucial for Minnesota to prevent Chicago from controlling time of possession. The Vikings’ run game has been inconsistent this season and they don’t have the most talented group of interior defensive linemen in the league, either. The best way to beat this Bears team is by playing with pace while flexing their offensive firepower. If Minnesota lets Chicago run the ball down their throat with long methodical drives, then this game could end up being too close for comfort. Unlike the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Tennessee Titans, these new-look Bears aren’t pushovers.
But if there’s one head coach in the league who is familiar with Brown’s offensive scheme and tendencies, it’s O’Connell. One can only hope that O’Connell’s experience working alongside Brown in Los Angeles will be enough to suspend the element of surprise that can come with facing off against a new offensive coordinator. If the Vikings take the Bears seriously, ensuring that they don’t make the same mistakes the Packers did last week, then we should feel pretty good about Minnesota’s chances on Sunday.
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