EAGAN, Minn. — Seven wins right now would be leading three divisions across the NFL. In the NFC North, it's good enough for third.
The black-and-blue division is proving to be one of the most competitive divisions in football, and much of it has to do with the surprise emergence of the Minnesota Vikings.
Many predicted the Vikings to be in somewhat of a rebuild after cutting ties with several big-name players, including quarterback Kirk Cousins and All-Pro edge rusher Danielle Hunter. But Minnesota's players didn't get the memo. Neither did Vikings coach Kevin O'Connell.
"I tried to portray my expectations from the very first time I stood in front of this team as a whole in training camp when we reported in late July," said the third-year head coach. "And I told the guys the other night at the hotel, when I did that, we've added some new players to the team — if there was anybody in this room that didn't believe what I said then, I hope you do now."
At 8-2, the Vikings are sitting in second place, one game behind the Detroit Lions and a game up on the Green Bay Packers, with rematches against both teams still looming.
Minnesota has been taking care of business in perhaps its weakest portion of the schedule, but things are about to ramp up, starting this weekend with the Monsters of the Midway. While the Chicago Bears have been in somewhat of a tailspin since opening the season 4-2, they showed signs of improvement — especially offensively — Sunday against the Packers.
In fact, had it not been for a blocked field goal on the game's final play, the Bears would be entering this weekend riding high off a win over their biggest rival. Instead, Packers defensive tackle Karl Brooks got a hand on Cairo Santos' 46-yard attempt, and Green Bay escaped with a 20-19 victory.
Now, the Bears will have a little extra motivation as they look to keep their playoff hopes alive this Sunday before a home crowd.
Here are a few things to know ahead of this weekend's division collision at Soldier Field:
Success at Soldier Field
The Bears were a 46-yard field goal away from ending an 11-game losing streak to the Packers at Soldier Field, and this weekend they'll look to put a stop to another streak against Minnesota. The Vikings have won four straight at Soldier Field, and have a chance to extend their winning streak in Chicago to its longest since 1996-2000.
Vikings coach Kevin O'Connell has never lost in Chicago as a head coach, but he knows how difficult it can be to win on the road in the NFL, especially against division opponents.
"Divisional road games are really important, especially in a division as competitive as the NFC North has been this year with four good teams in the division," O'Connell said. "So it’s gonna be a challenge going to Chicago this week and we’ve gotta have a really good week of preparation."
The Vikings have outscored the Bears 48-26 over the past two seasons under O'Connell, but it came down to the wire a season ago after backup quarterback Tyson Bagent led a late charge in the fourth quarter to make things interesting down the stretch. Minnesota eventually won 19-13, but the offense was held to just 220 total yards and it was the defense that scored the deciding touchdown — a 42-yard scoop-and-score by linebacker Jordan Hicks — that lifted the Vikings across the finish line.
"Every week is a challenge," O'Connell said. "We’ve gotta go play and try to find a way to win a game every single week. That’s been our sole focus all year long."
Chicago's new play caller
The Bears fired offensive coordinator Shane Waldron ahead of their game against the Packers, and saw some immediate success. Thomas Brown was given the play sheet and Chicago racked up 391 yards of total offense, converted 9 of 16 third-down attempts, and got into field goal range in the closing seconds to set up a potential game-winning field goal attempt.
Rookie quarterback Caleb Williams showed flashes of why he was selected No. 1 overall. He looked to develop a connection with receiver Rome Odunze, who is also a rookie, as the offense put together its best game in over a month.
"I thought they did a nice job the other day," said Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores of the Bears offense. "I thought they ran the ball well, they did a good job on third down ... it's not all totally different, there's some carryover from what they had done the previous nine weeks, but certainly some difference formationally. It's a different play caller so there's no way to get tendencies off of one game."
The Vikings defense has done its part during the team's three-game winning streak, holding opponents to 11 points per game in that span. However, as Flores alluded to, the unit will be presented with a new challenge going against a new offensive coordinator.
"They moved it. They picked up third downs. They controlled the clock. They ran the ball," said Flores. "I imagine they'll try to stay with that formula, but they've got enough skill players and enough different types of players to really play any style, so we'll see what we get."
Risner returns to make first start this season
Offensive guard Dalton Risner returned to practice earlier this month and made his first start Sunday against the Titans. When the Vikings added the veteran guard midway through last season, he took over the starting left guard position, but with the emergence of Blake Brandel this year, Risner swung over to right guard and played admirably in his first start.
"I thought he battled," O'Connell said. "I thought he showed some of that veteran moxie to win some downs that were some hard downs, and then I think there’s some things he’ll continue — just with the speed and physicality of it to find his groove. I was really happy the way Dalton stepped in with the pose of the veteran that we were looking for."
Ed Ingram had previously started every game this season at right guard for Minnesota, but he's had some struggles throughout the year, so getting a veteran player like Risner on the field helped give the Vikings some stability in their interior O-line.
Pick parade
After intercepting Tennessee Titans quarterback Will Levis to put the finishing touches on a 23-13 win, the Vikings continued their streak of at least one turnover in each of their first 10 games to start the season — one of just three teams to do so. The defense now leads the league with 16 interceptions and is tied with Buffalo for the most takeaways (21).
However, this week they'll put their 10-game takeaway streak to the test as they go against one of the best teams in the league when it comes to protecting the football. Chicago has turned the ball over just eight times, and its plus-9 in turnover differential is tied for third-best in the league, behind only Buffalo and Pittsburgh.
"I really see it being a really tough test for our team, but one I want to see our team attack through a good week of preparation and go have a complete team performance and try to get a win on the road in the NFC North," O'Connell said.