What Minnesota Vikings Fans Need to Know ahead of Week 1 at the Chicago Bears
The Minnesota Vikings are officially set to begin the 2025 regular season.
The purple squad will open up their regular season with a primetime divisional matchup as they take on the Chicago Bears on Monday Night Football. Ahead of the season opener, here is a look at what Minnesota Vikings fans need to know about the matchup.
How to Watch the Minnesota Vikings This Week
The Vikings and Bears will kick off their regular seasons on Monday, September 8 at 7:15 p.m. Central at Soldier Field in Chicago. The Monday Night Football matchup will be broadcast on ESPN and ABC, and it can be streamed via NFL+ in the NFL app as well as through NFL Sunday Ticket on YouTube TV.
Bears vs. Vikings History
One of the more storied rivalries in the NFL at this point, the Bears and Vikings have met a grand total of 128 times throughout the histories of the two franchises. However, the two teams have only met one time during the playoffs, which occurred on New Year’s Day in 1995 when the Bears defeated the Vikings in a Wild Card matchup.
All told, the Vikings lead the all-time series with a record of 68-58-2 against their NFC North counterparts. Minnesota also swept the Bears during the 2024 season series, winning their matchups in Weeks 12 and 15.
Bears Spotlight Player: LG Joe Thuney
Simply put, the Chicago Bears had atrocious performances from their offensive line in 2024. Caleb Williams was sacked an NFL-high 68 times during his rookie season and often found himself running for his life trying to create plays around immense pressure.
Chicago made a splash signing this offseason to address those issues by signing Joe Thuney, who has spent the past four years with the Kansas City Chiefs. He’s been named to the Pro Bowl in each of the past three seasons.
With his new team, Thuney faces a big test against a revamped Vikings defensive front that now includes both Jonathan Allen and Javon Hargrave. A major key to this game for the Vikings will be putting pressure on Williams.
Vikings Spotlight Player: QB J.J. McCarthy
How can it be anyone else? After a slight delay due to his season-ending meniscus tear last season, J.J. McCarthy is officially taking the torch as the Vikings’ next starting quarterback, and the pressure could not be higher on the young QB.
Not only is McCarthy taking his first regular season NFL snaps on the primetime stage against a hated rival, but he is doing it in hostile territory on the road at a place that has historically given the Vikings fits. Despite Minnesota’s success in 2024 against the Bears, they have scored more than 20 points in just two of their last six games at Soldier Field.
The Bears have a talented defense with Jaylon Johnson and Kyler Gordon in the secondary and Montez Sweat lurking on the defensive front, so McCarthy will need to bring his A-game to his first career start.
Editor’s Note: Statistics for this article were found via Pro Football Reference.
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