Chicago Bears vs Minnesota Vikings
Chicago Bears
Quarterbacks
- Mitch Trubisky: 2/3, 9 yards
- Chase Daniel: 22/30, 195 yards, 1 TD, 1 sack | 5 carries, 4 yards
You probably weren’t starting Mitch Trubisky against a competent Vikings defense, so this injury likely didn’t affect you. Still, it was tough to watch. He was wrapped up, spun around, and he hit the ground hard–extending his arm well past a comfortable point. It was certainly worrisome for anyone with a piece of the Bears offense (likely only Allen Robinson, David Montgomery, and Tarik Cohen). Worry not, because it was Chase Daniel to the rescue. Daniel dinked and dunked his way down the field mostly, leading the Bears to a touchdown and three field goals. His best pass on the day was to Javon Wims. Wims ran past his defender and found space. He adjusted to the pass (thrown slightly behind him) and made a great catch to save the play. Daniel appears to be serviceable and should maintain the value of your Bears starters.
Running Backs
- David Montgomery: 21 carries, 53 yards | 5 targets, 3 receptions, 14 yards
- Tarik Cohen: 5 carries, 11 yards | 5 targets, 2 receptions, 7 yards, 1 TD
With each passing day, David Montgomery sees more volume and I feel a little better about the Bears’ season. We all know the recipe for success when you have a great defense: stop opponent scoring + control the clock/ time of possession = win. Montgomery never found much space (his long run went for seven yards), but he continually pounded forward into the Vikings defense. He kept drives moving and took a lot of the pressure off of Daniel’s shoulders. I am feeling more confident about Montgomery’s volume, but we have yet to see him truly break a game open. I’d call Montgomery an RB2 moving forward given his volume and the Bears’ defense keeping games close. Just don’t expect many touchdowns.
Tarik Cohen was used better today, but I still hate seeing him run up the middle. He had a long catch that couldn’t be hauled in inbounds and a screen pass where he slipped and fell despite room to run. He hasn’t been viable week to week, and I expect this to continue with a backup QB now running the show.
Wide Receivers/ Tight Ends
- Allen Robinson: 7 targets, 7 receptions, 77 yards
- Javon Wims: 5 targets, 4 receptions, 56 yards
- Trey Burton: 4 targets, 2 receptions, 16 yards
- Cordarelle Patterson: 1 target, 1 reception, 3 yards | 2 carries, 4 yards
- Anthony Miller: 3 targets, 2 receptions, 11 yards
Allen Robinson is the highest flyer in the Bears’ receiving corps, and he pulled in all seven of his targets. I counted six catches in the first half, leaving me hoping for a 100-yard game. However, he was bottled up in the second with only one more catch in the game. Robinson has a penchant for getting open, and I’m hoping this creates space for the other pass-catchers moving forward.
Javon Wims was the defacto #2 on the day, and I was impressed with his day. I already mentioned his big catch, and this is where I see him fitting in: beating up on the second and third cornerbacks when Robinson is double covered.
Anthony Miller continues to be mostly MIA, but he did see three targets. I don’t know what is going on here as he looked ascendant last season, and there has been no mention of injury that I’ve heard. One thing is certain though: he has no value right now in any format except dynasty. Here’s to hoping he turns it around soon.
Minnesota Vikings
Quarterback
- Kirk Cousins: 27/36, 233 yards, 6 sacks, 2 fumbles
I’m guessing Kirk Cousins is happy to have a nice long break from playing the Chicago Bears. They tormented him, often bulldozing through the O-line and giving him no time to do much of anything. Cousins didn’t do much of anything until the fourth quarter when they started throwing screens behind the Bears pass-rush. This led to the Vikings’ only touchdown and a less-brutal looking box score. I have very little faith remaining in the Vikings’ passing attack as they truly don’t seem to want to pass. This could be trouble when a team manages to stop them from running. I’d have a hard time starting Cousins in almost any format right now.
Running Backs
- Dalvin Cook: 14 carries, 35 yards, 1 TD | 8 targets, 6 receptions, 35 yards
- Alexander Mattison: 2 carries, 5 yards | 1 target, 1 reception, 8 yards
This game is an excellent example of why we can’t trust yards per carry (YPC) or fantasy points to tell a full story about a player. If we look simply at YPC, Dalvin Cook played quite poorly today. He only averaged 2.5 yards per carry! However, this doesn’t tell us about how the Bears met Cook in the backfield on nearly every play. It fails to explain how he was lucky to ever gain a yard at all, yet he did gain 35. Looking at fantasy points, we see Cook having had a 19-point outing in PPR. This is also misleading. Cook benefited greatly from garbage time stats, including his touchdown and almost all of his receptions. My takeaway is that the Vikings can’t afford to be so one-dimensional if they want to be a successful team this year. Opponents will figure out that all they have to do is stop the run and the Vikings are done.
Wide Receivers/ Tight Ends
- Stefon Diggs: 7 targets, 7 receptions, 108 yards
- Adam Thielen: 6 targets, 2 receptions, 6 yards
- Bisi Johnson: 4 targets, 4 receptions, 35 yards
- Irv Smith Jr.: 1 target, 1 reception, 5 yards
- Kyle Rudolph: 1 target, 1 reception, 12 yards
People have been jumping off the S.S. Stefon Diggs just as fast as they can, but he may be righting himself just a bit. Diggs was targeted only twice in the first half, and his second catch was fumbled to end the Vikings second and last drive of the first half. At that point, he had 17 yards and surely plenty of angry owners. He came back strong in the second half, however, putting up another five catches for 91 more yards. Diggs was instrumental to the Vikings’ lone touchdown drive, totaling 38 yards on three catches. He still looks excellent on the field, and I hope the Vikings can completely right the ship.
Adam Thielen saw decent volume, but nothing came of it this week. He was open for a long catch that was tipped at the last moment by Kyle Fuller. He also nearly caught a ball in the endzone that was too far out of bounds. As long as the volume is this poor, Diggs and Thielen are hard to sell as much more than WR3 options. It’s shocking after seeing the last two seasons.
— Mike Miklius