Week 11: Bears at Vikings, noon on FOX

[jersey cubs fan]

Revenge is a dish best served cold but inside U.S. Bank Stadium it’ll only dip into mid-60s at best. Since Bears hybernate in the winter this is for the best because they better keep fattening up now before coming back to earth. 
 

I didn’t get to watch the last one but I listened to the first half and the offense sounded pathetic again. hopefully one of these days they can play a complete game and not worry about last second heroics, which are much harder against non-basement dwellers like Vegas, NYG, Cincy and Washington. 
 

Chicago is a 2.5 point dog as they ease into the tough part of the schedule. JJM is back at the helm for the Vikings and coming off a bad game. Caleb is probably going to need to do more in this game than he did in his last one because there will be points scored against the Bears. 

[Banedon]

I think the Bears take this one, but I don't think it will go far to dissuade the non-believers, which there are a lot of...and I get it.  I'm glad they have this one before Pittsburgh and Philly.

[The_Achiever]

Feels like a must-win if we want to make the 'yoffs.  Vikings have looked like butt with JJ at the helm, and the other JJ doesn't seem like he's playing hard half the time.  

I hope the offense looks better indoors.  Would be nice to get an early lead and take the crowd out of the game.

[BigSlick]

I gotta bad feeling about this one. Bears certainly capable of taking this game but the defense is really on the edge of collapse every game and JJ McCarthy is the exact type of bad QB that can feast on us with his legs. Well, nearly any QB can feast on us, but it'll be extra annoying if he does. 

Offensively we're still putting it together but the Vikings are a well-coached team and I expect them to throw some real challenges at Caleb and co. The Vikings are a mess but they did just take down the Lions. 

Vikings +2.5 shows that Vegas basically considers these teams equivalent. Would be super nice to take this one, move to 7-3, and bag another win with the real teeth of the schedule approaching. But something about this game feels like the Ravens-type loss. Bears keep escaping games against (IMO) inferior opponents without exerting their will over them. That can only last so long. I do think that kind of gumption will allow the Bears to steal a game against a superior opponent at one point this season, but at some point you will get burned when you play down to your competition. 

Go Bears. All faith in Ben Johnson and Caleb Williams. 

Edited November 11, 2025 by BigSlick

[CubinNY]

This is a winable game. I think Caleb looks best when the pressure is on (not necessarily during specific plays, but close games). It will be a close game. Bears by 3- 34-31. 

[UMFan83]

The first time we faced the Vikings I was worried about their blitz happy defense and pass rush.  Now that doesn't bother me nearly as much and I'm terrified about Jefferson and Addison running wild.  JJ will make mistakes though, just gotta be opportunistic like we've been all year.

[jersey cubs fan]

44 minutes ago, BigSlick said:

 

Vikings +2.5 shows that Vegas basically considers these teams equivalent. Would be super nice to take this one, move to 7-3, and bag another win with the real teeth of the schedule approaching. But something about this game feels like the Ravens-type loss. Bears keep escaping games against (IMO) inferior opponents without exerting their will over them. That can only last so long. I do think that kind of gumption will allow the Bears to steal a game against a superior opponent at one point this season, but at some point you will get burned when you play down to your competition. 

Go Bears. All faith in Ben Johnson and Caleb Williams. 

If you’re getting Vikings +2.5 take it 

[Soul]

It's impossible to feel comfortable with the Bears right now.  They are a team that has a lot of holes on the roster, yet they are winning games by hook or crook.  That's impressive to me.  But you've got to figure someone is going to light up this defense in a way that simply cannot be overcome by an offense that is still hit and miss.  And the Vikings do have a actual NFL-caliber defense.

I think they'll drop this one unfortunately.  27 - 17 Vikings.

[Rcal10]

I expect Jefferson to light it up. Over 100 yards and at least 1 TD. After Brister trashed talked him I have to believe the Vikings will go to him and he will have a big day. Doesn’t mean the Bears can’t win. But I don’t like that Brister poked the bear. 

[minnesotacubsfan]

45 minutes ago, Rcal10 said:

I expect Jefferson to light it up. Over 100 yards and at least 1 TD. After Brister trashed talked him I have to believe the Vikings will go to him and he will have a big day. Doesn’t mean the Bears can’t win. But I don’t like that Brister poked the bear. 

horsefeathers the Vikings 

 

bears 42 

vikes 24

[scarey]

Caleb has now had 7 game winning drives in the final 2 minutes of the 18 games he's started. Two of those (Washington and Minnesota last year) ended in losses.

 

If the Bears keep this close, I like their chances much more with Williams vs. Minnesota's chances with McCarthy.

[Brian707]

Vikings should win this one.  JJ will look mediocre again but get all the praise.  Vikings run game will dominate.  Vikings 27 Bears 20

[Derwood]

Yeah, I don't love that the success of the Bears defense is still based entirely around generating turnovers. Even in recent wins, they've given up a lot of yards, were down late, and relied on some takeaways to steal wins. Now that the O-Line is FINALLY shored up, they need to go all in on defense in the 2026 draft

[Wilson A2000]

Have the Bears finally taken the North and now are never going to give it back?

Edited November 12, 2025 by Wilson A2000

[Old Style]

1 hour ago, Wilson A2000 said:

Have the Bears finally taken the North and now are never going to give it back?

Lol no. We need to win a division game first. 

[mul21]

I'll feel a lot better about this game if TJ Edwards is healthy.  The defense is much worse with Sewell in the middle and that missed tackle damn near cost them the game last week.

[Old Style]

Sewell has played very well this season despite that one play. He hasn’t been as much of a factor lately but for much of the season I’d argue he was the LB we had out there. 

[jersey cubs fan]

12 hours ago, Rcal10 said:

I expect Jefferson to light it up. Over 100 yards and at least 1 TD. After Brister trashed talked him I have to believe the Vikings will go to him and he will have a big day. Doesn’t mean the Bears can’t win. But I don’t like that Brister poked the bear. 

https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/B/BrisBu00.htm
 

https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/B/BrisJa01.htm

[Banedon]

Benedet is definitely the weak link.

[BigSlick]

2 hours ago, Wilson A2000 said:

Have the Bears finally taken the North and now are never going to give it back?

They're not even really "in" first place, given the tiebreaker with Detroit. 

No I don't think this is that year, but I do think the future is quite bright. 

[gflore34]

4 hours ago, Banedon said:

Benedet is definitely the weak link.

In PP, definitely, saw him get beat a few times by Thibodeaux.  Although, to his credit, he recovered and managed to get in Thibodeaux' way not allowing a clear path to Caleb.  Maybe, it was only a few times, but, I was confused as to why Burns wasn't lined up more over Benedet.  Kept seeing lined up on the right side and with the way Wright is playing, that's not going to work for Burns.

Edited November 12, 2025 by gflore34

[WrigleyField 22]

Yea Benedet isn't great. Though I saw a good clip from Baldinger who talked about the one thing Benedet does well is stay on his feet.  While I'd love for him to just lock up guys like Wright, if he stays upright he's able to recover, especially because of Caleb's ability to evade. How many duds have we seen on OL over the years who are just constantly ending up on their ass? 

[Banedon]

3 hours ago, gflore34 said:

In PP, definitely, saw him get beat a few times by Thibodeaux.  Although, to his credit, he recovered and managed to get Thibodeaux' way not allowing a clear path to Caleb.  Maybe, it was only a few times, but, I was confused as why Burns wasn't lined up more over Benedet.  Keep seeing lined up on the right side and with the way Wright is playing, that's not going to work for Burns.

Yeah, it's definitely a pass protection issue with him.  He's apparently much better on the run blocking.

[Tryptamine]

So it sounds like the Bears were interested in Myles Garrett but were told he was unavailable. I can't even imagine what that would have cost if he had been. 

[raw]

On 11/11/2025 at 5:33 PM, Soul said:

It's impossible to feel comfortable with the Bears right now.  They are a team that has a lot of holes on the roster, yet they are winning games by hook or crook.  That's impressive to me.  But you've got to figure someone is going to light up this defense in a way that simply cannot be overcome by an offense that is still hit and miss.  And the Vikings do have a actual NFL-caliber defense.

I think they'll drop this one unfortunately.  27 - 17 Vikings.

And JJ McCarthy is the one to light up the defense?  I guess, if Tyler Huntley did though, anything's possible. Huntley does have much more experience in the league and in his offense than JJ has in his. 

I also disagree with "lot of holes". The holes have been created by injuries and having their best 2 CBs and starting LB out. Can't really say the offense has holes (except maybe LT). The Bears should beat this team. They should have beaten them before. I think the Bears offense is better than they were Week 1. The Vikings defense isn't as good as they were Week 1 (they have struggled to stop the run, and now the Bears can run).