Bears who are positioned to give the Vikings the most problems

Bears offensive coordinator Thomas Brown set the right tone for the task facing his side of the ball this week, if not the entire team.

“Football is a violent game and it rewards those who play it violently,” Brown said.

Finesse football isn’t going to beat a blitz defense like the one used by the Minnesota Vikings, and it won’t hold up against their big-play offense.

What is needed is physical blocking and physical play on the defensive end, starting with run defense against Aaron Jones.

“They do a really good job of running the football to set up their play-action game,” Bears defensive coordinator Eric Washington said. “So we’re going to have to make sure that we’re on top of our keys, that we find a way to make this offense one-dimensional. We can’t afford to let this offense be effective with its rushing attack, to define “play-action and execute in that area and then also be in manageable third-down situations. “

The Bears can be a physical team on both sides of the ball. Here are the Bears who can make the biggest difference against the Vikings.

1. Quarterback Caleb Williams

Anything the Bears do offensively will likely have to be a result of the quarterback and not their running game. D’Andre Swift’s groin injury isn’t the problem, as the Vikings defense never lets teams out in the running game. Teams can’t run outside where Swift is at his best when the Vikings go into all kinds of blitzes because they don’t have time to bring linemen out as defenders come on the land in empty spaces. And Swift isn’t a tough inside runner. In that regard, Roschon Johnson might have a better chance to gain ground yardage against the Vikings. However, when teams are locked down, they are able to do some things in the passing game. If they can make quick timing throws and hot reads available, Williams could burn Minnesota that way. This is really the only chance the Bears might have to hit the Vikings with the passing game.

2. WR Rome Odunze

Not only has Odunze’s connection to Williams as rookies solidified in recent games, but Minnesota is particularly vulnerable on the side of the court Odunze lines up on most often. Odunze would often line up against Stephon Gilmore in passing situations and he ranks 98th out of 112 cornerbacks defending the pass, according to Pro Football Focus. The statistic is certified by NFLGSIS.com directional percentages. The Vikings are a solid team against the pass, but on that side of the field, the right side of the offense, they are giving up 48% completions on the deep ball, which ranks 28th in the league. They are 29th in the league in yards allowed per reception on that side of the field (14.7).

3. DT Gervon Dexter

Dexter’s game has stabilized by the Bears’ bye and he needs to step it up against the run and pass. Dexter dropped to 10% pass win rate, 20th in the league after being in the top 10 earlier. The loss of his sidekick Andrew Billings for the year didn’t help. In this matchup, he will have a chance to make an impact because the guards on either side of Minnesota are the least impactful blockers according to PFF grades, and he will switch sides depending on the strong side of the lineup. Left guard Blake Brandel is 48th among 77 guards with posted grades and right guard Ed Ingram is 68th. With Dexter’s pressure, the Bears can cause Sam Darnold problems without blitzing and that is the best and perhaps only way to disrupt the Vikings offense.

4. LB TJ Edwards

The lack of high-level run blockers in Minnesota’s offensive line, aside from center Garrett Bradbury and tackle Brian O’Neill, indicates that running back Aaron Jones may be stuck behind the line. Edwards had a high point in the opener with 15 tackles, but reached 12 against New England and had one tackle for loss among his six last week. The weakside linebacker is still the key in this scheme with the 3-technique to stop the run and screen play.

5. TE Cole Kmet

Kmet’s size makes him a perfect option against the blitz and he can also be a target against the blitz in the screen game coming out of the backfield after setting up to block. Last year, he caught nine passes in two games. They weren’t downfield winners like he did last week with 14 yards per catch, but they were important receptions to move the chains. He is also often the target of bootleg passes and these are plays the Bears can use if they sense an upcoming blitz. Height is an advantage in the red zone or against the blitz because Williams doesn’t need to be as accurate, he can just throw it higher. That could also explain why they added 6-6 receiver Collin Johnson to the roster this week as well, as could Johnson’s ability as a blocker in the screen game.

6. P Tory Taylor

If ever the Bears needed a boost in terms of field position, it will be in this game. Facing an explosive passing attack with Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison at receiver, they need to bottle up Minnesota and make Darnold drive as much ground as possible. He’s been an error-prone QB as of late and putting him on long routes means he could make a key mistake. Taylor is eighth in the league, putting balls inside the 20.

7. CB Jaylon Johnson

Johnson is going to take Justin Jefferson all over the field. He’s taken on any challenge all year, but he had a particularly disgusting taste in his mouth last week, when his feet tangled with Christian Watson, he fell, and then Watson landed a diving dive, got up and ran 60 yards to get ready. the winning points. Johnson hasn’t really faced Jefferson since he became a dominant cornerback type. He was still promising in their 2022 opener before showing strong in that scheme, but Jefferson only played briefly in the 2022 finale and didn’t face the Bears at all last year .

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8. WR Keenan Allen

Sure, he’s injured now, but he still seems to have one. Allen isn’t necessarily in a good matchup situation this week, but what he does have is some history to beat Brian Flores’ defense. Last year he had 18 catches for 215 yards against them in Minnesota. In two other games, he had eight catches for 87 yards and a touchdown against Flores’ Miami defense.

Twitter: BearsOnSI