Chicago Bears vs. Minnesota Vikings: Complete Week 17 Preview for Minnesota: The Minnesota Vikings will complete their 2014 schedule when they host the Chicago Bears at TCF Bank Stadium in Minneapolis on Sunday afternoon. Theres nothing to play for other than pride for either team, although at least the Vikings have hope on their side as the current season winds down. The Bears are set to fire head coach Marc Trestman as early as Monday according to multiple reports, including Steve Rosenbloom of the Chicago Tribune. Chicago fans have watched a season that once held a smidgen of hope at 3-3 devolve completely off the rails as the Bears have dropped seven of their last nine. Quarterback Jay Cutler, the highest-paid player in the league, was benched last week but will return for the finale after backup Jimmy Clausen suffered a concussion last Sunday. As much of a disaster the 2014 season has been for the Bears, at 5-10 theyre only one game worse than the 6-9 Vikings and are among a quagmire of nine teams who will be drafting anywhere from seventh to 15th depending on Sundays results. As far as the future goes, the Vikings are one huge step—and perhaps two—ahead of the Bears in that they have both a head coach and a young quarterback in Mike Zimmer and Teddy Bridgewater that they can confidently head toward the future with. Even if the Vikings lose to the Bears and finish 6-10, Zimmer has established a culture of accountability at Winter Park. The truth about the Vikings 2014 season is that the bottom probably fell out when Adrian Petersons season ended after Week 1 and starting quarterback Matt Cassel was lost in Week 3. As harsh as it sounds, Cassels injury might have accelerated the overall growth of the team, as Teddy Bridgewater was forced into action and will head into the 2015 season with 12 NFL starts under his belt. Bridgewater has shown great progress over the season and looks better each week; his passer rating has been over 110 in three of Minnesotas last four games. Draft status aside, the Vikings would like to end Zimmers first year with a win. Its a home game, and theyre playing a team thats in complete shambles. Plain and simple, its a game the Vikings should win, and it would cap off a season that pretty much went according to script: Theyll have won every game they were supposed to and lost every one they were expected to. Expectations will be higher for 2015. Begin Slideshow #Football #NFL #NFCNorth #MinnesotaVikings
Posted on: Thu, 25 Dec 2014 21:16:14 +0000
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