After starting their season 1-0 with a dominant win over the Carolina Panthers, the Chicago Bears are looking to get their first NFC North win with a victory against the Minnesota Vikings.
Both teams are coming off wins, with the Bears defeating the Panthers, 59-37, and the Vikings taking down the Green Bay Packers, 39-22, after coming back from 12 points down. Minnesota is coming into this game with a backup quarterback after starter Kyler Murray sustained a concussion in the opener, while Chicago has a clean bill of health with everyone on the injury report going into the game without an injury designation.
Here is what it would take for the Bears to win this game and what it would take for Chicago to lose this game to the Vikings.
Why the Bears will win
The Bears
will win because their offense is better and the defense is good enough to clinch the win for Chicago. Quarterback Caleb Williams is coming off a four-touchdown performance against the Panthers, and while he historically has not played well against Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores, he is a much different player than he was in 2024 or in 2025 when Williams got his first win against Minnesota.
While Flores' defenses are known for their blitzes and being difficult to read, they have also tended to struggle against the run including last season. When Chicago defeated the Vikings last season, the Bears had 140 rushing yards and Chicago's sole touchdown in that game came on the ground from running back Kyle Monangai. This plays right into the Bears' hand because they want to run the ball and their offensive success is based on their success in the run game.
Chicago also has an explosive running back duo. D'Andre Swift and Monangai started the season off with a bang. Swift was the NFC Offensive Player of the Week after rushing for 124 yards and three touchdowns while Monangai had a 61-yard touchdown and 100 total rushing yards. If the Vikings cannot contain this rushing attack, this could easily happen again.
When it comes to Minnesota's offense, they could not push the ball downfield with Carson Wentz at quarterback. He only had two completions that went for greater than 10 yards but none greater than 20 yards. That is not the way to attack Chicago's defense which allowed multiple chunk plays to Carolina's offense, including a 51-yard touchdown.
An added factor for the Bears this week is that they got a little healthier in the secondary with safety Xavier Woods coming back after not playing in the season opener. Having a healthy roster is key in any game, but especially a division matchup.
Why the Bears won't win
The Bears will not win against the Vikings because of Brian Flores' defense. They have always given quarterback Caleb Williams a hard time. In fact, in the four times he has faced Minnesota, Williams has only won once and only has four touchdown passes which is the least he has against any NFC North team. Minnesota's defense has also managed to sack Williams nine times, the second-most out of any NFL team.
Minnesota also proved in their opener against Green Bay that the defense can take away the football when their team needs it most. Once the Vikings got the lead against the Packers, their defense generated two turnovers, both of which resulted in touchdown drives on short fields for the Vikings' offense to secure the win. Especially knowing the winner of this game will take sole possession of the No. 1 spot in the NFC North, Minnesota's defense is going to come after the ball.
Even though Carson Wents does not push the ball downfield, he does enough to keep drives going. All of Minnesota's points came with Wentz in the game; they never scored when Murray was on the field. The strategy was essentially for Wentz to be the distributor and allow the Vikings' playmakers to get yards after the catch. With how the Bears struggled with missing tackles in their opener against Carolina, that strategy could easily work in this game as well.
Finally, there is Minnesota's top player on the team, wide receiver Justin Jefferson. The two-time All-Pro is coming off one of his best games in a while with eight receptions for 92 yards and two touchdowns. Jefferson has also played well against Chicago historically, averaging 79 receiving yards across the 10 times he has faced the Bears. Especially with his offense needing to rely on him, Jefferson is going to step up and lead the Vikings to victory.
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This article originally appeared on Bears Wire: Why the Bears will or won't beat the Vikings in Week 2
