MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — For the fourth time in the past five years
White Jim McMahon Jerseys , the Chicago Bears will visit the Minnesota Vikings in the last game on the schedule.The Vikings,
having already ceded the NFC North title to the Bears, have yet to secure a spot
in the playoffs. The Bears could still improve their seed and snag that coveted
first-round bye, if they win and the Los Angeles Rams also lose at home to San
Francisco.If not, the Vikings (8-6-1) would be the likeliest opponent for the
Bears (11-4) in the wild-card round next week.“We understand what’s at stake.
There’s no magic formula. There’s no button you can push or hours you can put in
to suddenly snap your fingers and guarantee a win,” Vikings quarterback Kirk
Cousins said. “You do all you can, give everything you have.”Last season, though
the Vikings needed the victory to secure the second seed in the NFC and the
first-round bye , they had clinched the division two weeks earlier while the
Bears were bound for last place in the division.The year before that, the
biggest drama was the pair of repelling oil pipeline protesters who sneaked past
security to climb up a truss connected to the roof and unfurl a large banner as
they lowered themselves from the ceiling. Both the Bears and Vikings had already
been eliminated from contention.In 2014 at TCF Bank Stadium, the Vikings wrapped
up their first of two years outside during the construction of U.S. Bank Stadium
with a win over the Bears that determined they’d finish third in the NFC North
and not fourth.The two teams did this play-out-the-string thing twice in recent
memory at the Metrodome, too. Both teams were eliminated before the 2011 finale,
too, when the Bears stopped a five-game losing streak to finish at .500. In
2005, with the Bears resting most of their starters with the division already
clinched, a victory by the Vikings wasn’t enough to keep coach Mike Tice from
being fired after the game .Well, finally
Jim McMahon Jerseys 2019 , these rivals have entered their 2018 season closer in the right positions for a tension-filled game on Sunday.“We’re going in there really
focused,” Bears quarterback Mitch Trubisky said. “We know we’re going against a
really good team.”Here are some other key angles to follow:SCOREBOARD
WATCHINGThe NFL arranged the schedule to minimize the anticlimactic outcomes,
moving the Bears-Vikings game to the late-afternoon slot so it would be played
simultaneously with Eagles-Redskins, Cardinals-Seahawks and 49ers-Rams.The
Vikings are guaranteed the last wild-card spot if Philadelphia loses at
Washington. They would get the No. 5 seed and a first-round game at Dallas with
a win and a loss by Seattle at home to Arizona. Their long-shot scenario is
starting the postseason in Los Angeles, if they lose to the Bears and the Rams
and Eagles lose, too.“All the hypotheticals or where we would be at or what we
are going to be based on the results of this weekend, I know that we’re playing
this game to win,” Trubisky said.“We’re going out there with our starters, and
we’re competing. For me, it’s an easy mindset. Coach says, ‘Go,’ and we’re
going.”NO PAYBACKThe Bears said they’re not seeking payback for Vikings safety
Harrison Smith, whose hit on a sliding Trubisky late in the game in Chicago on
Nov. 18 drove the second-year quarterback’s throwing shoulder into the ground
and wound up sidelining him for the following two games.“I really put it behind
me,” Trubisky said. “I didn’t even consider it illegal or anything malicious of
that nature.”Last week, 49ers safety Marcell Harris delivered a late hit on a
sliding Trubisky, setting off a skirmish that resulted in the ejection of three
players.“We’re not about being revengeful or getting back to anybody,” coach
Matt Nagy said. “Nothing. None of that.”MACK ATTACKBears linebacker Khalil Mack,
who was picked for his fourth Pro Bowl
White Roquan Smith Jerseys , reached double-digit sacks for the fourth straight year. He has 12½ sacks, with 4½ in the past four games. He’s tied for the NFL lead
with six forced fumbles for the Bears, who have 36 takeaways for the most in the
league.BETTER PROTECTIONMack and defensive tackle Akiem Hicks helped make the
previous matchup, a 25-20 victory by the Bears, miserable for Minnesota’s
offensive line. Cousins took only two sacks, but each of them lost 8 yards
.Dalvin Cook and Latavius Murray combined for only 18 rushing yards on 13
attempts. The Vikings have blocked better in the past two games, and the
improvement down the stretch by rookie right tackle Brian O’Neill has been
particularly visible.“We knew at some point it was going to happen,” coach Mike
Zimmer said. “He’s just such a good athlete.”NO PLACE LIKE HOMEThe Vikings are
18-6 in the regular season and postseason at U.S. Bank Stadium, and the Bears
haven’t won in Minnesota since that final game on the 2011 schedule.“Our team
feeds off the crowd and what they bring,” Cousins said. “It’s just a great place
to play an NFL football game, and I can’t say enough good things about the
venue, the locker room, the facility and the way our fans spur us on.” Check our
our Thoughts on the NFL this week and make sure to leave a few of your own in
the comment section."1) What the New England Patriots have done during the Bill
Belichick/Tom Brady era is incredible. I get the fatigue many NFL fans have with
them, but as a gigantic Chicago Bulls fans during the Phil Jackson/Michael
Jordan era, I can see both sides to watching a dominating run. Cheering on the
Bulls during that time was so rewarding. We got to watch greatness on a daily
basis. As good as Jordan was, those teams were all so fun to root for. Scottie
Pippen was the only other constant on Chicago’s championship teams, but those
six squads had plenty of other guys that helped them achieve their rings. As
Bulls fans we have a special place in our memories for Horace Grant, John Paxson
(pre running the Bulls)
Roquan Smith Jerseys 2019 , Steve Kerr, Dennis Rodman, Cliff Levingston, Stacey King, Toni Kukoc, John Salley, etc.And I’d imagine it’s similar for Patriots
fans. Brady is in the G.O.A.T. discussion, but Pats’ fans must have fond
memories of Kevin Faulk, Richard Seymour, Deion Branch, Tedy Bruschi, Shane
Vereen, Dont’a Hightower, Chris Long, and all those other players that helped
their franchise to six Super Bowl wins in nine tries. 2) I mentioned Brady is in
the G.O.A.T. discussion, and not the clear cut G.O.A.T., because you can’t
discount what Joe Montana did during his time. Montana went 4 for 4 in Super
Bowls with the San Francisco 49ers, and in a much different era his passing
numbers in those games hold up even today. His career 127.8 passer rating in
Super Bowls is still the best of all time. Even if you take Brady’s four best
performances and calculate the passer rating from only them (106.4)
White Khalil Mack Jerseys , he’s still far short of Montana’s Super Bowl greatness.I’m not saying Brady isn’t the greatest of all time, but I’m not
saying he is either. 3) Where did all this Julian Edelman for the Hall of Fame
nonsense start?Edelman is a damn good player, but at no time during his career
was he ever considered one of the best wide receivers in the game. He was an
important piece to three Super Bowl champions, but he’s also a 0 time All Pro
and a 0 time Pro Bowler. 4) Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay is still a
damn good football coach, and he’ll have his team back at it, but he matched
wits with the best and came up short. “There really is no other way to put it,
I’m pretty numb right now, but definitely I got outcoached,” McVay said. “I
didn’t do enough for our football team.”5) McVay’s first offseason task will be
to take the training wheels off his quarterback, Jared Goff. From Sports
Illustrated; If Goff can’t get to a point where he can make all the necessary
adjustments on his own, the Rams may want to think about finding a new QB.6) The
Oakland Raiders are expected to become the Las Vegas Raiders for the 2020
season, but the latest talk is they might play their home games in 2019 in San
Francisco. Their lease is up at the Oakland Coliseum and they need a “home” for
this year, so they are talking to the San Francisco Giants about playing their
home games at Oracle Park.Their new Vegas stadium will be a combo for them and
for UNLV, so why not just play their 2019 games at the current UNLV home
stadium, Sam Boyd Stadium to get a jump start on the Vegas market?EDIT: Not in
San Fran...7) It’s possible we’ll see a veteran QB shuffle this offseason as
rumors are circulating that theDolphins are going to get rid of Ryan Tannehill
and the Bengals are parting ways with Andy Dalton. The Giants may move on from
Eli Manning and the Ravens may be ready to trade Joe Flacco. Also with the
Eagles picking up the option on Nick Foles, they are likely to trade him away
too. EDIT: And then this happened...8) Speaking of Eagle QBs, the latest news
about about Carson Wentz doesn’t paint the young player in the best light with
anonymous players reported to have called Wentz “egotistical,”
“selfish
Khalil Mack Jerseys 2019 ,” and “uncompromising,” and that he plays “favorites,” doesn’t like to be “questioned,” needs to “practice what he preaches,” and fails
“to take accountability.” This recent Philly Voice article also says that
players like Foles more than Wentz. This should be a fun offseason in
Philadelphia. 9) We’ll be bringing you guys a lot of draft coverage in the
coming weeks, and part of that will be our Mocking the Mocks series where we
look at a mock draft from an NFL analyst and, well, mock it. This latest three
rounder from the NFL Networks’ Chad Reuter has the Chicago Bears going in an
unexpected direction. Admittedly, I haven’t done a ton of digging into the draft
yet, but I do know what the Bears need and I wouldn’t have wide receiver
anywhere near the top of that list. Perhaps Ryan Pace would have McLaurin so
high atop his board that he’d be the best player available, but I’m not mocking
a wide out to the Bears with their first pick in the 2019 draft. 10) There were
conflicting rumors/reports over the weekend as to which teams would be playing
in the 2019 season opener for the NFL’s 100 Year celebration. One report had it
being a rematch of one of the conference championship games with the Super Bowl
winning team deciding which, meaning it’d be the Patriots vs. the Kansas City
Chiefs. The NFL has traditionally gone with the Super Bowl champs in that
Thursday prime time slot, but with the 100th season celebration taking place
they might go a different route. The other report was that it’d be the Chicago
Bears vs. the Green Bay Packers from Soldier Field to kick off the 2019 season.
Since this is also the Bears’ 100th season, the celebratory tie-in makes sense.
I’d imagine that the Bears would be allowed to pick their home opponent for
their own 100th year anniversary — much like the Packers did a year ago — and
I’d expect they’d want a piece of the Pack.
