The 4-6 Chicago Bears will play the 8-2 Minnesota Vikings at Soldier Field in a Week 12 matchup. Here’s what you need to know before kickoff (noon, Fox-32).
5 things to watch — plus our predictions
Defensive end Montez Sweat was forthright when asked how he is feeling as the Bears prep for the Vikings.
“We’re on a three- or four-game losing streak? I’m pretty (expletive) frustrated,” he said.
It’s not just the losing streak that has dampened Sweat’s spirits recently. He has been on the injury report more than he has been used to, first with a shin bruise and then with an ankle injury, though he is now off it and good to play Sunday. And he hasn’t recorded a sack since Oct. 27, sitting at 3½ for the season.
The Bears pass rush in general has been lacking of late, with just one sack in each of the last two games, and that’s obviously something they’d like to change as they attack Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold. Read more here.
- Column: Montez Sweat and the Bears defense are in a pass-rushing slump. Will a ‘reset’ turn the tide?
- Column: Will the Bears find ways to run on the NFL’s No. 1 rushing defense?
Caleb Williams’ big test
Bears rookie quarterback Caleb Williams will venture deeper into NFC North competition in Sunday’s game.
With the Bears staggering through a four-game losing streak, Williams will have to do his part this week to put the team back on track. And the pressure will remain intense Sunday — from both a blitz-happy Vikings defense and the urgency the Bears face to keep their season alive. Read more here.
- How will the Vikings defend Bears QB Caleb Williams? ‘It’s the mobility that stands out.’
- Bears Q&A: How many wins does Matt Eberflus need to save his job?
- Tracking Caleb Williams: How the Bears QB is performing in his rookie season
Jaylon Johnson vs. Justin Jefferson
Bears cornerback Jaylon Johnson has new, even bigger challenges when he faces the Vikings and wide receiver Justin Jefferson.
After an injury-marred 2023 season, Jefferson has 59 catches for 912 yards and five touchdowns in 10 games. He has totaled fewer than 81 receiving yards in a game just twice this season and was deemed “a very special player” by Bears cornerbacks coach Jon Hoke.
Jefferson and Johnson were both drafted in 2020 and have played for the division rivals since. So it’s an oddity that in eight opportunities they’ve met only two other times — on Jan. 9, 2022, and Nov. 16, 2020. Jefferson totaled a combined 13 catches for 242 yards and a touchdown in those games. Read more here.
Yes Chef!
“Are you guys chefs or something?”
It’s a question Oliver Poilevey, Marcos Ascencio and Alex Martinez get asked a lot when they tailgate at Bears’ home games.
They hear it while setting up their butane burners and putting the blue-and-white tablecloths on their folding tables. They hear it when doing prep work. And they definitely hear it once the various dishes — seafood paella, truffle-topped soft scrambled eggs and brioche French toast with foie gras, for example — are ready and shared with those fortunate to be nearby.
No surprise then that the answer is a resounding yes. Read more here.
About last week
Packers coach Matt LaFleur crystallized how the NFL is designed when asked about his team’s 11-game winning streak against the Bears, the longest in the storied history of the rivalry.
“Most teams in this league, it’s a .500 league,” LaFleur said. “You have to find a way to win some of these tight games like we did.”
LaFleur is right. The NFL is designed to create parity. The good teams that are well-coached and manage to remain healthy find ways to pull ahead of the pack. The bad rosters, teams that are poorly coached and ones that get beat up with injuries are stragglers. Read more here.
- Caleb Williams experienced a Bears tradition — another stunning loss to the Packers
- Fourth-and-3. Game on the line. How Bears rookie Rome Odunze made a ‘Vegas’ gamble pay off.
- True or false: Bears coach Matt Eberflus’ game-ending decision was questionable
- Richard Hightower on blocked FG that sealed Bears loss: ‘We’ve got to go out there and perform’
- Bears and Packers have played 209 times in the past 100 years. Here’s how the rivalry has unfolded.
Looking ahead
The NFL has scheduled games on Thanksgiving since the league’s inception. Playing on Thanksgiving is nothing new for the Bears, who have done it 37 times — the third most in the NFL — with another game at Detroit’s Ford Field on Nov. 28.
Known as the Decatur and then Chicago Staleys for its first two Thanksgiving games, the Bears competed on the November holiday annually for 19 consecutive years from 1920-38. The venue that has hosted the Bears most on Thanksgiving — 11 times — is Wrigley Field.
Here’s a look back at the team’s record on the holiday. Read more here.