The Bears will display their pitifulness on national TV once again, when they visit the Vikings Sunday afternoon at 4:15pm ET on FOX. Over the course of the remainder of the season, the Bears figure to win one game that they're not supposed to win. However, I highly doubt it's this one.
Week 12 Recap
The Vikings: Brett Favre and the purple machine kept rolling last week, when they humiliated the the Seahawks in the Metrodome 35-9. Favre set another personal mark with a career high 88% completion ratio on a 22-25 afternoon.
The Bears: Jay Cutler and company shot themselves in the foot again... letting a winnable game vs the Eagles get away. Only this time, Cutler waited until the final possession in the 4th quarter, with the game on the line, to throw his first INT of the game. Kudos Jay... way to keep us in suspense.
Quick Numbers:
- 112.1: Brett Favre's QB rating on the year.
- 875: Receiving yards for Sidney Rice... 4th in the NFL.
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3.3: Matt Forte's YPC on the season.
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18: Interceptions for Jay Cutler... at least he's leading the NFL in one category.
When the Vikings have the ball.
I'm going to be real brief with this one. They're 9-1... they have the best RB in the league, a HOF QB, and plenty of weapons. We know who they are... there's nothing they don't do well. Let's move on.
The key match-up for the Vikings: G Steve Hutchinson vs the Bears LBs
Hutch is one of the best run blocking guards in the NFL... and he gets to the second level and clears the way for Purple Jesus. Bears LBs have to find a way to shed his block and make a tackle to keep this game from getting out of hand.
The X factor on offense for the Vikings: WR Percy Harvin
The rookie is a playmaker. Period. He's comparable to Devin Hester, except he's way more in tune with his role on offense.
When the Bears have the ball.
This offense seemingly gets worse every week, as nobody has played with any consistency the entire year, except for perhaps Frank Omiyale... who has consistently sucked and found his way to the bench. Let's see if Ron Turner finally figures something out, and gets Jay Cutler moving out of the pocket with regularity, where he can minimize the weakness of the O-line, and force defenders to commit in coverage.
The key match-up for the Bears: LT Orlando Pace vs DE Jared Allen
The Vikings D leads the NFL in sacks, and Allen's a beast... enough said.
The X Factor on offense for the Bears: WR Devin Hester
Hester has put together a personal highlight reel vs the Vikings over his career... so, maybe he'll add on to it this Sunday.
Side notes from the NFC North:
Vikings: They're leading the division at 9-1, and licking their chops to kick our butt.
Lions: Matthew Stafford is proving to one tough SOB, and has the makings of a leader. This division is going to boast a nice group of QBs.
Packers: Speaking of tough SOBs, Aaron Rodgers takes a lickin, and keeps on tickin. He's now been sacked 44 times, but it hasn't stopped him from being one of the league's best.