7 Keys to Victory in Chicago Bears' Week 5 Matchup
The Chicago Bears usher in a new era in Week 5 against the Minnesota Vikings on Monday Night Football.
Hindsight will cast an unpredictable glow on Chicago's decision to give rookie quarterback Mitchell Trubisky his first start on the road in prime time against an elite defense.
Alas, the timing seems as right as it can be given the circumstances after the offense floundered under free-agent add Mike Glennon, who now moves to the backup role earlier than anticipated.
The Bears aren't trying to fool anyone—at 1-3, the move is simply about looking toward the future while posting a better record than a year ago. But it sure beats the alternative, which was more strong performances by the defense and running game going to waste.
With a renewed energy around the franchise heading into a battle against a divisional rival that has held three of four opponents to less than 20 points, the Bears will need to focus on several key areas to escape with a win.
Get Jordan Howard Going
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File this under the "obvious" tag, sure. But it isn't so obvious if the Bears are struggling to get Jordan Howard going on a regular basis, right?
The running back carried the ball 18 times for 53 yards and a touchdown in the Week 4, 35-14 loss to the Green Bay Packers. Put another way, he averaged 2.9 yards per carry.
To be fair, Howard is nursing a hurt shoulder. But it didn't stop him from popping off for 140 yards and two touchdowns on a 6.1 per-carry average the week prior.
The 22-year-old's ability to produce might rest in the threat a quarterback presents, meaning the Bears need to get the passing game going with a rookie under center, or he's going to keep running into a brick wall of a Minnesota defense despite the hurt shoulder.
To make matters worse, Howard dropped yet another pass a week ago. If the passing game isn't moving, he can't be successful and the Bears won't stand much of a chance.
Stay Home on Minnesota's Wideouts
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This isn't something folks hear often when discussing the Vikings.
Minnesota has done well to surround the quarterback with talent, though, as Stefon Diggs continues to grow into his own and Adam Thielen was one of last year's quieter breakout players.
This year, Diggs leads the Vikings in receiving with 391 yards and four touchdowns, and Thielen isn't far behind with 358 yards, though he has yet to hit paydirt. Both have received 32 targets from the combo of Case Keenum and Sam Bradford.
It's hard to know which quarterback will take the field for the Vikings, though it doesn't really matter—the Bears need another strong performance from No. 1 corner Prince Amukamara and somebody else to step up across from him on the other wideout.
If not, Minnesota won't have problems spreading out the Chicago defense for a quick-hitting attack.
Wake Up Connor Barth
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Chicago doesn't have much room for error, meaning a borderline-perfect performance in all facets is a must to win games.
So it goes for a rebuilding team. This logic extends to special teams, where kicker Connor Barth has only hit two of his four attempts.
Not to rile up the fanbase, but former Bears kicker Robbie Gould has hit all 11 of his attempts with the San Francisco 49ers this year.
That aside, Monday's contest has the feel of one capable of coming down to a kick. Both teams feature good-to-great defenses, meaning tough sledding for offenses and ample chances for kickers.
Barth can not only secure his job status, he can help his team win. And job status is a concern considering the Bears worked out kickers Wednesday, according to the Chicago Tribune's Brad Biggs.
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Involve the Tight Ends
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Tight ends are important for a rookie quarterback.
They were important for a veteran like Glennon, too, yet to date new arrival Dion Sims has five targets and notable rookie Adam Shaheen has one.
Granted, veteran Zach Miller sits second on the team with 20 targets, which he's turned into 143 yards. But with the absolute disaster that is the depth chart at wideout, there isn't much of a reason to ignore the other two mentioned options.
After all, Sims starting budding as a pass-catching option with the Miami Dolphins a year ago. He's a great blocker but getting him more involved would vary the offense. Ignoring the 6'6", uber-athletic Shaheen is handicapping an offense for no reason.
If the Bears can start utilizing weapons like Shaheen at various spots, Trubisky and a downtrodden group of wideous won't make much noise against the Vikings defense.
Generate More Pressure
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Sacking Aaron Rodgers twice is a great way to let him throw four touchdowns, a lesson the Bears learned the hard way in Week 4.
Minnesota doesn't have a Rodgers, but Keenum and Bradford have only suffered a combined five sacks over 133 attempts. The former isn't a bad backup considering a recent three-touchdown game, and the latter turned heads by throwing for 346 yards and three touchdowns in the opener with laser accuracy.
Given the aforementioned weapons at wideout, not to mention tight end Kyle Rudolph, either guy could do serious damage on a consistent basis if he has all day to throw.
This isn't meant to suggest the Bears haven't been generating pressure at all. But nine sacks over four games clearly isn't cutting it and the ripple effect on a new-look secondary hasn't been great.
Get a Strong Performance from Danny Trevathan's Replacement(s)
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The Bears got some good news Tuesday in the form of linebacker Danny Trevathan getting his two-game ban reduced to one, according to ESPN's Field Yates.
The bad news? The Bears still have to go without him against the Vikings.
Keep in mind Jerrell Freeman is on injured reserve as well, meaning the task falls to the combination of Nick Kwiatkoski (if healthy), Jonathan Anderson and Christian Jones.
The trio will need a big day. Explosive Vikings rookie Dalvin Cook might be down for the year, but a combination of Latavius Murray and Jerick McKinnon has enough juice in tandem with a quick passing attack to grind out a game.
Trubisky can't do much if he's not on the field, so the replacement inside linebackers need a huge day, shuttering rushers and limiting gains after catches.
Keep It Simple
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See this is fun, right?
With Glennon, the Bears needed to expand the playbook, take risks to at least have a chance. No more of the wideout-had-one-catch approach Chicago trotted out recently.
With Trubisky, a rookie? Reel it back in.
The biggest differences with Trubiksy from Glennon comes down to arm and athletic ability, and he's not shy when talking about the latter.
"And then when things break down, I'm able to make plays and again get the ball to my playmakers. Because I'm not the best athlete on the field. There are other guys who do that. But when things can break down I can maybe make something happen," Trubisky said, per the Associated Press (via USA Today).
Rest assured the athletic ability will be on full display when things break down. But the approach itself needs to weave in safe targets like those tight ends and play the deep shots Trubisky can take far down the field off play action after a successful ground attack.
Going too complicated will only fluster a rookie, at least in most cases. The Bears don't usually have a hard time going conservative, or we would have talked about Trubisky's debut a few weeks ago.
All contract information courtesy of Spotrac unless otherwise specified. Stats courtesy of NFL.com. All advanced metrics courtesy of Pro Football Focus.
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