Talk about intrigue. The Vikings play the Bears in Chicago on Sunday and the game could be a laugher for the Purple—but then again perhaps Marc Trestman’s group can finally get things right.
The Bears have lost three consecutive games, including the last two by a combined 69 points. Let’s just say Trestman, the Bears second-year coach from St. Louis Park, isn’t positioned to run for mayor of the Windy City anytime soon. Last night the Bears probably reached a new low in the Trestman era when the Packers embarrassed Chicago 55-14 on NBC’s national telecast. That defeat came after a 51-23 loss to the Patriots.
“It was humiliating,” wrote Mike Foss for Monday’s Usatoday.com. “The last team to give up 50 points in consecutive games was the Rochester Jeffersons in 1923. Yes, that doesn’t sound like a real team.
“It was dumbfounding. After the game, Packers receiver Randall Cobb noted that the Bears essentially gave up.”
The headline on the Foss story is: “The Chicago Bears are dead. The Green Packers killed them.”
The Bears, 3-6, clearly have major issues this season—including injuries that have impacted the offense—but will they have at least a little bite against the Vikings, 4-5, or is this team headed for early hibernation? Vikings offensive lineman Brandon Fusco said the Bears might be “down in the dumps” but players won’t quit on themselves because they are competitors. “It’s the NFL. It doesn’t matter what your record is,” said Fusco who is injured and out for the season.
Vikings safety Harrison Smith watched last night’s game and was asked what he thought the Bears’ reaction will be? “You never know. Locker rooms are different. I am not in their meetings, not in their locker room. I know they got a bunch of Pro Bowl players on that team so we just gotta get ready to play those guys.”
Anthony Barr, the Vikings rookie linebacker, expects the Bears’ adversity to work in their favor next Sunday. “I think you play harder because of that. I think it makes you want to respond and come back the next week and prove yourself.”
A couple of Vikings mentioned the difficulty of playing the Bears at Solider Field. Center John Sullivan, for instance, is 0-6 at the historic stadium during his Vikings career. What’s interesting now, though, is the Bears are 3-3 on the road and 0-3 at home.
This week the Bears will want to forget their home record and the results of recent games including last night. “They got it handed to them. That’s behind them,” said Vikings wide receiver Greg Jennings. “They’re moving on to us and we’re moving on to them.”
The Vikings, coming off a bye in the schedule, are on a two-game winning streak. They have a different kind of momentum than the Bears, and they hope to retain it after Sunday.