'He's almost a clone' – Bears' secondary will have to pick their poison on Monday when it comes to defending against the Vikings' top pass catchers
The Chicago Bears will have a tough task defensively going up against the Minnesota Vikings on Monday Night Football in Week 15.A large reason why the Vikings have jumped out to an impressive 11-2 record through 14 weeks is because of the play of Kevin O'Connell's offense and the resurgence of quarterback Sam Darnold.The recipe […]
The Chicago Bears will have a tough task defensively going up against the Minnesota Vikings on Monday Night Football in Week 15.
A large reason why the Vikings have jumped out to an impressive 11-2 record through 14 weeks is because of the play of Kevin O'Connell's offense and the resurgence of quarterback Sam Darnold.
The recipe of their success has been the elite pass catching options the team has been deploying on offense all season long.
Shutting down the Vikings offense on Monday starts with containing wide receiver Justin Jefferson. Through 13 weeks, Jefferson trails only Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase in receiving yards and continues to take the top off of opposing defenses on a weekly basis.
As good as he is in terms of his statistical production, just his presence alone makes things incredibly difficult to defend against.
"He's a problem. I don't think anybody necessarily has a true answer to how to stop elite players," Bears interim head coach Thomas Brown said on Thursday. "I'm not going to act like we have some magical formula, because there isn't one. Owning those matchups, winning one on one battles, but also the mix of coverage is gonna be a big part when it comes to how to try to keep those guys off balance…
"Anytime you talk about the passing game, the more you can compact the front and affect the quarterback, that obviously negates what a receiver can do. I think understanding how to mix up coverage is also effective. Quarterback is going to be a big part of trying to slow [Jefferson] down, but he's the true problem."
Having a gameplan for Jefferson is good and all, until you start turning the attention away from the Vikings' other weapons in the passing game. And that's something the Bears learned the hard way the last time these two teams faced off in Week 12.
The Bears held Jefferson to two receptions for 27 yards but watched as Jordan Addison went for 162 yards and a touchdown and tight end T.J. Hockenson added another 114 yards on seven receptions himself.
Addison, coming off a game where he totaled 133 yards and 3 receiving touchdowns, will be just as important to hold in check as Jefferson will be.
"He's almost a clone of Jefferson," defensive coordinator Eric Washington said on Friday. "Great speed, possession receiver, understands the open areas in specific coverage concepts, how to create separation. So, very similar skillset to Jefferson and he's become a reliable target for Sam Darnold."
No one really personally knows how dangerous Addison can be on the field than his former quarterback at USC, who will be leading the team on the other sideline. At USC, Bears rookie quarterback Caleb Williams and Addison connected 59 times for 875 yards and 8 TDs during Williams' Heisman-winning 2022 season.
"I mean, if you watch, he's explosive. He's not the largest human, but he still plays like he's 6'5 and he'll go up and get the ball in traffic," Williams said about Addison. "All these different all these different things. It comes down to his detail and his routes. And, you know, I think he's, if not the best, one of the best, that I've played with at route running and getting open and things like that."
Clearly, the Bears' secondary are in for a tall task on Monday night coming off a game where they allowed 321 passing yards. It was a poor performance from the team on an execution standpoint caused by miscommunication and a change in play-callers.
After firing head coach Matt Eberflus, Washington took over defensive play-calling duties and was in charge of calling the secondary and the rest of the defense for the first time since the preseason.
"I'm not going to put forth any theories or anything that sounds like an excuse. We fell short," Washington explained. "And that can't be. We have to go out and do what we have to do on our side to support the cause of winning a football game."
The last time these two teams faced off, the defense was the final unit on the field to lose the game after giving up 83-yards on 10 plays. A drive that ended with a game-winning field goal in overtime.
After reviewing that loss and last week's performance, the unit will be looking to go out on Monday with a higher level of purpose. We'll see if it pays off this time around.
Vikings vs. Bears: Can WR Justin Jefferson be stopped again and other burning questions
Can the Bears stop Justin Jefferson again?
