The most fascinating matchup of Week 4 in the NFL is a battle of 2-1 teams in what has been the league’s best division thus far. The Vikings and their newfound running prowess are going to Chicago to face the defense that dominated them in their two meetings last season.
This is the true litmus test for the new, rush-first Minnesota offense that running back Dalvin Cook calls "old school." Chicago, which had the NFL’s top rushing defense last season at 80 yards allowed per game, has been even better in 2019 with just 69 yards per game given up on the ground. Something's gotta give.
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The Bears dethroned the Vikings as NFC North champs last season as their front seven overwhelmed Minnesota’s offensive line, shutting down the run and pressuring quarterback Kirk Cousins into costly mistakes. At Soldier Field, the Bears shut down Cook to the tune of 9 rushes for 12 yards with a lost fumble. The Vikings as a team were held to 22 yards rushing in a 25-20 loss.
In the rematch in Minnesota — the season finale with a playoff spot on the line for the Vikings — Cook fared slightly better with 11 carries for 39 yards, but Chicago held Minnesota to 63 rushing yards for the game. Again, a one-dimensional Vikings offense was beaten, 24-10.
It resulted in change.
Vikings coach Mike Zimmer was thinking foremost about Khalil Mack and Co. when he fired last year's pass-happy offensive coordinator John DeFilippo, saying he wanted a renewed emphasis on the run game. He elevated Kevin Stefanski to OC and brought in Gary Kubiak as offensive advisor and Rick Dennison as offensive line coach to implement their zone-blocking scheme that was so successful in leading Denver to a Super Bowl four seasons ago.
Minnesota general manager Rick Spielman worked the draft and free agency to add center Garrett Bradbury as the top pick and guard Josh Kline as a key free-agent signee to upgrade the O-line. He also retained an excellent blocking and receiving tight end in Kyle Rudolph with a restructured contract and drafted Irv Smith Jr. in the second round to aid the run blocking and add another receiving threat in the two tight end offense that has become the mainstay.
Through three weeks, it’s so far-so great. Minnesota has made a dramatic improvement in their rushing attack, going from No. 30 in NFL rankings last year (93 yards per game) to No. 2 thus far, averaging 194 yards per game on the ground.
Cook, the third-year back who battled injuries through his first two seasons, is the NFL’s leading rusher with 375 yards and an exceptional 6.6 yards per carry. Wide receiver Adam Thielen, who got into the mix with a rushing TD of his own last week, said of Cook: “We’re riding his coattails, and I expect that to continue.”
Both Cook and impressive rookie third-rounder Alexander Mattison scored rushing TDs in Sunday’s blowout win over Oakland to bring Minnesota’s league-leading total to seven. The Bears’ fierce run defense, meanwhile, has not allowed a rushing touchdown.
Again, something’s gotta give.
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In both of the Vikings’ losses to the Bears last season, Minnesota fell behind early and trailed by double digits at halftime. With a shaky offensive line at that time, such situations were not conducive to continuing the effort to run the ball.
Minnesota’s change in offensive philosophy and belief in Cook and their players’ run-blocking ability (including that of the wide receivers) was evident in its Week 2 loss in Green Bay. Despite being down 21-0, the Vikings stuck with the run. Cook broke a 75-yard touchdown to get them back in the game, and they had an opportunity to win until Cousins threw a terrible interception into double coverage from the Packers’ 8-yard line with five minutes left and trailing by five points.
In addition to the running game, this week also is a litmus test for Cousins, who needs to prove he can gain a signature road win over a top team; he was 1-5 against winning teams last season, plus the Packers loss this season.
The new offense has been a dramatic shift for Cousins, who has thrown for more than 200 yards in just one game thus far after doing it in 14 of 16 games last season. He needs the Vikings to be able to run enough that it can set up the play-action passing game, an area in which he was effective against the Raiders.
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Another sub-plot to Sunday’s game is whether Chicago QB Mitchell Trubisky can match his strong play in the two wins over Minnesota last season, when he hurt the Vikings throwing and on several key runs for first downs. Trubisky has been under pressure for his sub-par play in the first three games this season.
It also has surely stuck in in Zimmer’s craw that the Bears rushed for a total of 317 yards in those two games. After all, he runs the defense and stresses stopping the run before unleashing the Vikings’ strong pass rush.
It all shapes up as an important test for both teams — as big as they come for a game so early in the season. The biggest storyline, though, is Minnesota’s reinvigorated rushing offense against Chicago’s stout rushing defense.
That matchup should be the major factor in which team emerges with a key victory.
Jeff Diamond is a former president of the Titans and former vice president/general manager of the Vikings. He was selected NFL Executive of the Year in 1998. Diamond is currently a business and sports consultant who also does broadcast and online media work. He makes speaking appearances to corporate/civic groups and college classes on negotiation and sports business/sports management. He is the former chairman and CEO of The Ingram Group. Follow Jeff on Twitter: @jeffdiamondNFL.
