Bears vs. Vikings: 5 Keys for Chicago to Score a Win

When the Chicago Bears and the Minnesota Vikings match up against one another on Sunday, it will be a matchup of two teams at the bottom looking up in their division.

Both the Bears and Vikings have had a tough go of it so far this season. Both have losing records and find themselves struggling to stay above water in a division with two teams still unbeaten.

One team will keep itself from drowning, while another will feel the icy waters of irrelevance creep higher. Here are what the Bears need to do to be the former.

Protect Jay Cutler

Last week in an 11-point loss to Detroit the Bears offensive line had a terrible time trying to keep Jay Cutler off his back.  The porous group gave up three sacks and would have given up more if Cutler hadn’t been quick on his feet and able to avoid the rush.

This week, the Bears face a much less threatening foe in the Vikings. However, this Vikings’ defense still has remnants of the one from a few years ago that wreaked havoc on opposing offenses.

The Bears must protect Cutler and give him time to make good reads. They’ll win if they can.

Give Matt Forte 25 Touches

Last week, Matt Forte touched the ball 26 times for a total of 151 yards from scrimmage against of the best defenses in the NFL. The week before against a not-so-good Carolina defense, Forte touched the ball 29 times for 228 total yards from scrimmage.

Seeing a pattern? Forte is a playmaker and is a huge part of the Chicago offense. Granted, giving him touches doesn’t translate automatically to a win, but he produces when given the opportunity. That can’t hurt.

Forte should have a field day against this Bears’ defense, especially if Bears’ offensive coordinator Mike Martz can find creative ways to get him the ball.

Bottle Up Adrian Peterson

This is probably a given, but it’s important anyway. Adrian Peterson is literally the only offense the Vikings have right now.

The Vikings have won just one game this season, and it is no coincidence that their lone win was the game in which Peterson had the most carries. Peterson is averaging 4.5 yards per carry and has ran for six touchdowns so far.

If the Bears can stop Peterson and force the Vikings to try to beat them through the air, the Bears chances for a win will increase dramatically.

Hit Donovan McNabb

Times have changed drastically for Donovan McNabb. He went from being an elite quarterback in Philadelphia to a nuisance in Washington to a liability now in Minnesota.

McNabb has been extremely disappointing so far this season, posting a quarterback rating of 80 and completing less than 50 percent of his passes in a third of the Vikings’ games.

The Bears must hit and pressure McNabb, especially in obvious passing situations. He hasn’t been prone to turnovers much this season (just two interceptions), but it is easy to keep him from having success. Hitting and bothering him will be a big part of that.

Let Devin Hester Do His Thing

Devin Hester is by far the best playmaker on the Bears’ squad. He just does it primarily in special teams.

Hester is a huge weapon for Chicago, and they need to use him as best they can. They need to back up the Vikings so that Hester can possibly actually get a punt kicked to him, and they need to find some ways to get him more involved in their offensive attack.