Chicago Bears: Blueprint for Victory in Week 2 Matchup Against Minnesota Vikings
Published by James Tillman III on September 15, 2013
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears are coming off a 24-21 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 1.
While there were many positives to take from an impressive come-from-behind win, there is still room for improvement.
That being said, here are a few points for the Bears as they prepare for their Week 2 meeting against the Minnesota Vikings.
Establish Ground Game
Jay Cutler threw for 242 yards and two touchdowns, while Brandon Marshall caught eight balls for 104 yards and a touchdown (per ESPN).
However, there was one element that was noticeably missing from the Bears’ offensive output. The missing element was the lack of a ground game.
The team as a whole rushed for just 81 yards on 28 attempts, including Matt Forte, who managed only 50 rushing yards on 19 carries (2.6 yards per attempt).
This level of production is simply not enough from a team that has placed a great emphasis on running the football over the past few seasons.
Being that the Vikings feature multiple players who can get to the quarterback such as Jared Allen, Kevin Williams and Bryan Robinson, Chicago will need to have a better showing with the ground game if they hope to come out on top in this one.
Utilize Earl Bennett
Bennett had his best season in 2009 when he recorded 54 catches for 717 yards (per pro-football-reference.com). Since that time, injuries and vanilla offensive schemes have resulted in him becoming the forgotten man more or less.
And in the victory against the Bengals in Week 1, he caught just one pass for six yards. This is a very disturbing trend considering the Bears were 5-0 last season when Bennett recorded three or more receptions in a game (per Adam Jahns of the Chicago Sun-Times).
Based on this stat, it’s safe to say that Bennett will need to have a more prominent role if the offense is going to live up to its potential.
Keep Pressure on Christian Ponder
The Bears will have their hands full trying to contain Adrian Peterson, who has averaged 108.5 yards per game to go along with 14 touchdowns (per Brian Hall of Fox Sports).
However, while Peterson is usually the focal point when opponents game-plan against the Vikings’ offense, the key for the Bears will be their ability to pressure third-year quarterback Christian Ponder.
One of the reasons why Detroit beat Minnesota last week was because Ponder threw three interceptions.
So if the Bears can force the Vikings into becoming a one-dimensional offense, they will improve to 2-0 on the season.
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