5 hours ago
(This post was last modified: 5 hours ago by purplefaithful.)
The local take:
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The Vikings kick off the regular season in the final game of Week 1, as J.J. McCarthy makes his NFL debut in the stadium where he saw his first NFL game at age 4. He’ll face Caleb Williams, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 draft who went nine spots ahead of McCarthy.
McCarthy has played in two preseason games for the Vikings, but as he sees it, Monday night is his first real action since Jan. 8, 2024, when he led Michigan to a national championship against Washington. “Gotta be four quarters for it to count,” he said last week.
Here’s a look at what to expect at Soldier Field:
The biggest storyline
Familiar faces in new places: McCarthy and Williams have known each other since they were high school quarterbacks in the Elite 11 camp in 2020, both doubting they’d done enough to win MVP honors in the camp until Williams was announced as the winner. Williams has a year of experience, but McCarthy has familiarity with his coach: Williams is in his first year with former Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson, whose offenses helped Detroit go 5-1 against the Vikings while he was there.
“There’s some predicting, some forecasting what he uses, but no one has a crystal ball,” defensive coordinator Brian Flores said of Johnson. “We don’t know what Ben has cooked up. It’s really more about fundamentals and techniques. Week 1 is normally about that.”
Strib
Vikings offense vs. Bears defense
How will Bears cover Jefferson? In the first matchup between the teams last year, the Bears draped defenders around Justin Jefferson, giving him just 1.5 yards of average separation from the closest defender, according to NFL Next Gen Stats. The Bears played primarily Cover 3 and Cover 4 zones against Jefferson last season; it’ll be interesting if they take the same approach or use some of the man coverages that veteran defensive coordinator Dennis Allen typically likes to employ. Jaylon Johnson, the Bears corner who’d likely match up against Jefferson the most, has been dealing with calf and groin injuries, which could limit how much Allen wants him running with Jefferson.
Responsibility, challenge for run game: The Vikings are primed to run the ball more frequently in 2025, with Jordan Mason joining Aaron Jones behind a revamped offensive line. The first test for the group comes from a defense that ranked 28th against the run last year but will have a different feel under Allen, whose Saints defenses ranked in the top five against the run each year from 2018-21. The Bears signed former Falcon Grady Jarrett to occupy the middle of a 4-3 defense that will add some five-man fronts to change angles and assignments. The Vikings’ new offensive line will see an early test from Allen’s group.
Vikings defense vs. Bears offense
New front gets first swing at Johnson’s offense: After becoming one of the NFL’s hottest coaching candidates this offseason, Johnson moved from Detroit to Chicago, where the Bears are trying to replicate many of the tenets of his offense that gave the Vikings so much trouble the past three years. The Bears revamped their offensive line, drafted Colston Loveland as their answer to Sam LaPorta and built an offense that could mirror Detroit’s. The Vikings will counter with a defensive front that should provide more interior pass rush than it did last year, with Jonathan Allen and Javon Hargrave in the middle of the group.
Williams could be in for a test: Williams threw for 340 yards in the Bears’ first game against the Vikings last year, thanks to some spellbinding moments while he was on the move. He threw for only 191 yards on 31 attempts in the second game, as the Vikings pressured him 40% of the game while allowing him to complete only four passes longer than 10 yards. The additions of Hargrave and Jonathan Allen to the Vikings’ defense, as well as the growth of Dallas Turner, could put Williams in a tough spot again on Monday night, if the Vikings can create the matchups they want against the Bears’ line.
Injury report
Vikings
Out: RB Zavier Scott (ankle), DL Elijah Williams (hamstring)
Doubtful: S Harrison Smith (illness)
Questionable: T Christian Darrisaw (knee)
Bears
Doubtful: LB T.J. Edwards (hamstring)
Questionable: DB Jaylon Johnson (calf/groin), DB Josh Blackwell (groin), RB Roschon Johnson (foot)
Prediction
As much as Monday night is about McCarthy’s debut on national TV, it’s also a checkpoint for Williams, playing under a coach who was hired to maximize his talent while facing a defense that has preyed on youthful quarterbacks. Expect the Vikings to come after Williams throughout the night. If they can keep him from repeating the escape acts he staged at Soldier Field last year, they should extend their winning streak in the stadium, their house of horrors for much of the century, to a once-unthinkable six games. Vikings 17, Bears 13
I've been watching this team since back to Fran...
I have NO IDEA how the kid QB is going to handle MNF, on the road, division game.
The good news is he doesnt have to beat them by himself. Hella surround.
What I'm really going to scrutinize is how he does situationally with his arm/legs. There will be some key downs that fall right on his shoulders/feet.
====================
The Vikings kick off the regular season in the final game of Week 1, as J.J. McCarthy makes his NFL debut in the stadium where he saw his first NFL game at age 4. He’ll face Caleb Williams, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 draft who went nine spots ahead of McCarthy.
McCarthy has played in two preseason games for the Vikings, but as he sees it, Monday night is his first real action since Jan. 8, 2024, when he led Michigan to a national championship against Washington. “Gotta be four quarters for it to count,” he said last week.
Here’s a look at what to expect at Soldier Field:
The biggest storyline
Familiar faces in new places: McCarthy and Williams have known each other since they were high school quarterbacks in the Elite 11 camp in 2020, both doubting they’d done enough to win MVP honors in the camp until Williams was announced as the winner. Williams has a year of experience, but McCarthy has familiarity with his coach: Williams is in his first year with former Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson, whose offenses helped Detroit go 5-1 against the Vikings while he was there.
“There’s some predicting, some forecasting what he uses, but no one has a crystal ball,” defensive coordinator Brian Flores said of Johnson. “We don’t know what Ben has cooked up. It’s really more about fundamentals and techniques. Week 1 is normally about that.”
Strib
Vikings offense vs. Bears defense
How will Bears cover Jefferson? In the first matchup between the teams last year, the Bears draped defenders around Justin Jefferson, giving him just 1.5 yards of average separation from the closest defender, according to NFL Next Gen Stats. The Bears played primarily Cover 3 and Cover 4 zones against Jefferson last season; it’ll be interesting if they take the same approach or use some of the man coverages that veteran defensive coordinator Dennis Allen typically likes to employ. Jaylon Johnson, the Bears corner who’d likely match up against Jefferson the most, has been dealing with calf and groin injuries, which could limit how much Allen wants him running with Jefferson.
Responsibility, challenge for run game: The Vikings are primed to run the ball more frequently in 2025, with Jordan Mason joining Aaron Jones behind a revamped offensive line. The first test for the group comes from a defense that ranked 28th against the run last year but will have a different feel under Allen, whose Saints defenses ranked in the top five against the run each year from 2018-21. The Bears signed former Falcon Grady Jarrett to occupy the middle of a 4-3 defense that will add some five-man fronts to change angles and assignments. The Vikings’ new offensive line will see an early test from Allen’s group.
Vikings defense vs. Bears offense
New front gets first swing at Johnson’s offense: After becoming one of the NFL’s hottest coaching candidates this offseason, Johnson moved from Detroit to Chicago, where the Bears are trying to replicate many of the tenets of his offense that gave the Vikings so much trouble the past three years. The Bears revamped their offensive line, drafted Colston Loveland as their answer to Sam LaPorta and built an offense that could mirror Detroit’s. The Vikings will counter with a defensive front that should provide more interior pass rush than it did last year, with Jonathan Allen and Javon Hargrave in the middle of the group.
Williams could be in for a test: Williams threw for 340 yards in the Bears’ first game against the Vikings last year, thanks to some spellbinding moments while he was on the move. He threw for only 191 yards on 31 attempts in the second game, as the Vikings pressured him 40% of the game while allowing him to complete only four passes longer than 10 yards. The additions of Hargrave and Jonathan Allen to the Vikings’ defense, as well as the growth of Dallas Turner, could put Williams in a tough spot again on Monday night, if the Vikings can create the matchups they want against the Bears’ line.
Injury report
Vikings
Out: RB Zavier Scott (ankle), DL Elijah Williams (hamstring)
Doubtful: S Harrison Smith (illness)
Questionable: T Christian Darrisaw (knee)
Bears
Doubtful: LB T.J. Edwards (hamstring)
Questionable: DB Jaylon Johnson (calf/groin), DB Josh Blackwell (groin), RB Roschon Johnson (foot)
Prediction
As much as Monday night is about McCarthy’s debut on national TV, it’s also a checkpoint for Williams, playing under a coach who was hired to maximize his talent while facing a defense that has preyed on youthful quarterbacks. Expect the Vikings to come after Williams throughout the night. If they can keep him from repeating the escape acts he staged at Soldier Field last year, they should extend their winning streak in the stadium, their house of horrors for much of the century, to a once-unthinkable six games. Vikings 17, Bears 13
I've been watching this team since back to Fran...
I have NO IDEA how the kid QB is going to handle MNF, on the road, division game.
The good news is he doesnt have to beat them by himself. Hella surround.
What I'm really going to scrutinize is how he does situationally with his arm/legs. There will be some key downs that fall right on his shoulders/feet.
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