Vikings Looking to Do the Double over the Bears
The Minnesota Vikings prepare for their third NFC North game of the season, the first at home. They welcome the Chicago Bears to US Bank Stadium this Sunday. Having already won at Soldier Field in Week 1, the Vikings are looking to do the double over the Bears and keep their 100% divisional record so far this season.
VikingsTerritory looks at the importance and consequences of this week’s game as the Vikings look to do the double over the Bears.
In what has been an inconsistent season so far for the Vikings, leading them to a 4-5 record and in last place in the division, we head into Week 11. The team has shown up big in the division’s games. Wins on the road against the Detroit Lions as well as the Bears are what have kept them at least within touching distance of the rest of the division. To keep a playoff opportunity within reach, they need to do it again and seal a second win over Chicago this season.
Vikings Can Sweep Their Windy City Foe
The Vikings will look to do the double over the Bears for the fourth time in the last five seasons. Minnesota is on a dominant run against its divisional foe with only one loss in its last nine meetings. However, the last three Chicago wins have all come at US Bank Stadium.
These sequences don’t last forever, as the Vikings proved themselves by breaking Detroit’s string of dominance against them this season. However, the team should at least have the confidence that recent wins have brought.
Minnesota also leads the all-time series against the Vikings and Bears, having played 129 times (including 1 postseason game), and leads 69-58-2. A healthy cushion that the Vikings will hope to extend.
The home team opened as favourites despite Chicago being in good form, having won six of their last seven games. Home advantage and historical and recent success perhaps tipping the scales slightly in the purple team’s favor.
A Matchup with Huge Consequences for the 2025 Season
This week’s game is set to be a real fork in the road moment for the 2025 version of the Vikings. Losing this game and falling three games behind the Bears, and potentially the Green Bay Packers and Detroit Lions as well, would likely prove catastrophic for hopes of a competitive season. In a crowded NFC playoff race with the NFC North front and center, six losses already would be very difficult to recover from.
The swing the result of the game has for Minnesota is shown in how it affects the Vikings’ chances of making the playoffs. Minnesota currently has a 22.4% chance of making the playoffs. A win over Chicago would push that number to 32%—still seen as an outside chance, but in with a chance.
However, a loss would drop it to just 10.7% – aka, forget about it. It is the largest single-game swing in the NFL this week for playoff chances, highlighting the importance of the task at hand for Kevin O’Connell’s team.
For Chicago, the stakes are just as high as Caleb Williams looks for his first win over the Vikings on the fourth attempt. The Bears enter Week 11 at 6-3 and currently occupy the No. 6 seed in the NFC playoff standings. A win would boost their postseason odds to 67.3%, giving them firm control over their playoff destiny. A loss would be a blow, knocking them back to 39.6%, but they would still be firmly in the mix.
A win for the Vikings would be the first sign of some consistency this season. Coach O’Connell has orchestrated bounce-back wins after disappointing losses already this season. He needs to do it again on Sunday.
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