Vikings vs. Bears: Keys for a Minnesota Vikings Victory over Chicago Bears

Is it too far-fetched to think that a 1-4 team can roll into Soldier Field on Sunday night and give Da Bears a second straight divisional loss? A team that has one of the grittiest defenses in all of football with an as explosive offense to boot? The truth to that question will be played out in one of the fiercest rivalries in all of football when the Bears host the Vikings this Sunday night.

For their part, the Vikes have showed that they can put together some really impressive halves of football this year, playing in a manner that could just as well see the team sitting at 5-0. What matters, however, is that when it's mattered the most, the Vikes have slipped off the tracks. Which version of the Vikings will show up on Sunday directly correlates to whether or not the Vikes have a chance of taking out their divisional foe.

Until then, though, there are a handful of keys that can certainly aid in the Vikings getting a huge divisional win at Soldier Field this weekend.

First and Foremost: "One Game at a Time" Mentality

I know this might sound like a bit of an obvious key for the Vikings, however, sometimes the simple things are a bit overlooked. It's possible that all it takes is a little bit of simple psychology. If you play like it's one game at a time, you'll get one-game-at-a-time results. I'm sure Leslie Frazier has already incorporated this philosophy at least within his own mind as if for no other means than to hold onto to his own job security a bit longer.

Too often teams spend so much time looking ahead at the bigger picture that they lose track of what the current objective at hand is. Simply put: If the Vikings want to make a real run at a playoff berth this year, they are going to have to focus simply on the Bears.

Bring the Heat on Cutler

It's a pretty standard philosophy that the more heat you put on a quarterback, the more mistakes you are likely to get out of him. Is there a more glaring example of this, however, than with the "Guns O' Blazin'" Cutler...(Yes, that's my nickname for him.)

One thing's for sure, the guy will either light you up for 300-plus and four TDs, or he's going to toss some passes in the opposite direction. Favre-esque? Maybe? But he certainly is effective when his all-or-nothing mentality is working for him. That's why the Vikings need to have constant pressure coming from every angle in order to keep Cutler guessing.

The one thing the Vikings have maintained to be successful at is their front line, and their speed at the linebacker position. When you have guys like Jared Allen, Kevin Williams, E.J. Henderson and Chad Greenway lining up opposite the Bears, there is no reason you shouldn't be able to get a hand on Cutler on more than a few occasions. If they are relentless in their attack on him, it could be the main deciding factor in the end result as to whether or not the Bears can put up points.

 

Starting Devin Aromashodu over Bernard Berrian Should Be a No-Brainer

If there is a more overrated player on the Vikings roster in the last five years other than Bernard Berrian, I'd like to know who he is. On the other hand, if there has been a player on the Vikings roster this year who has shown more promise than Devin Aromashodu, I'd like to know who he is.

While It may be a little unfair to hate on Berrian too much considering the simple fact that he was way overrated to begin with, it should be an easy decision for Frazier and Co. at this point on who the better receiver is. When the Vikings signed Berrian to a big contract in 2008, he was coming off of one good season with the Bears. This happens too often in the NFL when a guy has one good year, gets signed to a big deal and then never shows the promise that got him that deal in the first place. That, in a nut shell, is Bernard Berrian's story.

Simply put: Berrian has never brought much to the table for the Vikings aside from one decent 2008 season and an infamous 99-yard touchdown from the hands of Gus Frerotte.

Aromashodu on the other hand has shown flashes of promise this year. Granted, he's only caught four balls for a total of 120 yards, which certainly doesn't scream record-breaking numbers; it does show that he has been reliable enough to make plays for a team that has been short of playmakers, however. If for no other reason, you can simply tell the guy wants to play football, and he wants to win games with the Minnesota Vikings.

A lot can be seen through negative or positive body language, and fans and the media alike can see which player has which. The decision shouldn't be that hard anymore, Leslie.

Simply Put: Adrian Peterson

He's the best back in the NFL. He's likely the best player on the field in every game he plays, and the guy would do anything to win football games. When Peterson is possessed, it's like watching a man play against pee-wee football players, and that's never a good thing for the opposing team. No one knows the dire situation the Vikings are in better than Peterson, and he's likely to show it every time you give him the ball come Sunday night.

Aside from that, the NFC North is arguably the toughest division in football, and this translates doubly to the field when two of the teams face off in an important game. Peterson has had huge games against the Bears in the past, and if the Vikes hope to move to 2-4 after Sunday night, he needs to have another. 

Cut McNabb Some Slack...

I may be in the minority here, but has McNabb played that bad? I'm not sure what the expectations were for an aging quarterback making likely his last stop in the NFL. With that, I think he's done more than enough to put the Vikings in many positions to win football games. The fact that they couldn't close them out isn't solely his fault. 

Because he is the quarterback, and because he is a high-profile player, however, the majority of the blame is going to lie on his shoulders.

While McNabb might not be the downfield threat he used to be, he can still move pretty well and he's limited his mistakes enough that the Vikings rarely turn the ball over. On paper, he simply hasn't played that badly. I'd like to imagine a world where I'm not the only person with the feeling that McNabb certainly has enough left to get us into the playoffs...unfortunately, though, that world is starting to seem more and more a figment of my imagination.

There's always something to be said for what a bit of confidence can do for a player's performance. Is it too far-fetched to think that with a bit of reassurance from fans, players and coaches alike, Donovan could get himself into that mindset that took the Eagles to great heights? Probably not, but I'm still living in that world where I think it's possible.

Mix It Up with Peterson and Harvin

Let me touch again on the fact that the Vikings have the best back in the NFL, and that means the more times he touches the ball the better chance they have of taking one to the house. If you look at what they are doing in Detroit, every fifth or sixth play is some kind of screen that seems to go for four to five yards each time. After all, this is a passing league as so many often say these days. The Lions rarely run your basic halfback draws anymore, and instead have replaced the runs of the past with many different ways with which to get the ball in the running back's hands.

Although Peterson is the best back in the NFL, the attack that the Vikings use him in is too minimal and sometimes a bit too obvious. Can you imagine how potent their offense would be if they mixed it up a bit with Peterson? If you can think of what they do with Percy Harvin, sometimes he takes a direct snap for a run, sometimes he'll catch a screen, sometimes he'll be involved in some sort of trick play (although those never seem to work).

Point is, when they mix it up with Harvin, it seems to always open things up for him to get at least huge play a game. 

By limiting Peterson's production to nothing more than an occasional screen and your 20 to 25 carries a game, you are certainly limiting the opportunities the best back in the NFL has of reaching the end zone. If they can manage to get him involved in a few more passing plays a game, they automatically increase their chances of putting more points on the board. At the end of the day, however, regardless of how good the defense plays and how effective Donovan can be, the Vikings chances Sunday night live and die by No. 28.