Breaking down major NFL playoff implications in Week 11 schedule

By Ian Wharton | Nov 16, 2018

SANTA CLARA, CA - NOVEMBER 6: Quarterback Drew Brees #9 celebrates a touchdown with wide receiver Michael Thomas #13 of the New Orleans Saints against the San Francisco 49ers in the fourth quarter on November, 6 2016 at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California. The Saints won 41-23. (Photo by Brian Bahr/Getty Images) /

5 of 7

CHICAGO, IL – OCTOBER 28: Mitchell Trubisky #10 of the Chicago Bears looks to pass during a game against the New York Jets at Soldier Field on October 28, 2018 in Chicago, Illinois. The Bears defeated the Jets 24-10. (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images) /

Minnesota Vikings at Chicago Bears

The Chicago Bears have found their offensive footing in recent weeks, leaving them with the fourth-best point differential in the league this season. Bet you wouldn’t have guessed that. And yet, at 6-3, the Bears aren’t completely safe and can score a huge win this week.

They host the Vikings, a team that has won four of their last five games but is still not doing as well as expected of them. Many expected this team to be elite with the addition of Kirk Cousins, but a return of their anemic running game and less consistency from the defense has left them at a pedestrian 5-3-1 record.

I think both teams are better than their records despite some turbulence in the first half of the season. Both are currently in the playoff bracket, and the Packers don’t seem to be a major threat to breaking into their two-team race. The Seahawks might be the biggest competition to knock one of them out of a Wild Card spot.

Still, both of these teams are better than Seattle.

The Bears have a loaded team. They’ll go as far as rookie head coach Matt Nagy and quarterback Mitch Trubisky will take them. I don’t usually like to boil it down to that level, but those are their two biggest question marks due to their inexperience and quality of their roster.

Watch for Nagy to attack the Vikings’ linebackers on crossers and seam passes. The Vikings have a wonderful collection of talent but they’ve played disjointed against pre-snap motion and combination routes.

Minnesota’s also a high-caliber team though, and have already figured out how to solve some of their own issues. Whether they can protect Cousins and Dalvin Cook enough to produce more than 20 points and put strain on Trubisky is their top question this game.

If Minnesota can be disciplined against Nagy’s false motion and give Cousins some time to find his tremendous receivers, they’ll earn a win that’ll separate them from the pack by one game in the Wild Card race.

For Chicago, this game is about pressuring Cousins, and getting Trubisky more easy yards. Their pathway to win is easier due to that, but it’s easier to trust the veteran Vikings, who also need this game more.

Prediction: Vikings 24-21

Home/NFL