New Coach — Same Result for the Bears?
The last time Minnesota faced off against the Chicago Bears, they had an entirely different leader. Then Matt Eberflus looked clueless on Thanksgiving, and the organization did exactly what you’d expect them to do. They kept the head coach, had him do a press conference, and fired him immediately after.
New Coach — Same Result for the Bears?
Thomas Brown was already elevated to offensive coordinator the last time these teams met. He has now coached just a single game as the team’s leader. It did not go well. On the road against the San Francisco 49ers, without any semblance of a real running back, they lost 38-13.
Caleb Williams threw the ball just 23 times in the last game, which is less than half of what he did against Minnesota. He took a whopping seven sacks and generated just 134 yards through the air. The running game produced 2.7 yards per carry on 14 totes by back D’Andre Swift. To say things haven’t been fixed would be putting it lightly.
It remains to be seen how Brown will attack Minnesota. Last time around, he controlled the offensive game plan but ultimately didn’t have the final say. Williams found success passing the ball against the Vikings’ defense, but the result was short, as Minnesota put together a great overtime drive to win the game.
There is a sizable talent gap between these two teams, and it may be even larger when considering the coaching matchup. Kevin O’Connell is not only a strong coach of the year contender but also among the best in the entire league. Expecting Brown to match wits with his adversary in their first matchup is probably lofty at best.
Minnesota can’t go into the game thinking they will simply walk over the competition. It doesn’t and won’t work like that. That said, if they can show up prepared, there’s no reason to believe that the final score can’t replicate something like the outcome that Atlanta provided a week ago.
The Vikings’ final three weeks of the season will be a real test. They’ll need to win out if they want to challenge the Detroit Lions for the first overall seed. That starts with handling business with an opponent they must impose their will on.
Ted Schwerzler is a blogger from the Twin Cities that is focused on all things Minnesota Twins and Minnesota Vikings. He’s active on Twitter and writes daily for Minnesota Sports Fan. As a former college athlete and avid sports fan, covering our pro teams with a passion has always seemed like such a natural outlet.
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