Early Look: Vikings vs. Bears

EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. — The NFL season has flown by in the blink of an eye, and Week 17 is already here. Minnesota is 12-3 and will be heading to the playoffs with an NFC North title in hand. There is still plenty to play for in Sunday’s game against the Bears. The Vikings can lock up the No. 2 seed in the NFC and a first-round bye with a win. Chicago is 5-10 and has been eliminated from playoff contention. The Bears earned a 20-3 victory on Sunday over the winless Browns. Here’s an early look at Sunday’s regular-season finale:Passing: Vikings quarterback Case Keenum completed 14 of 25 passes for 139 yards with a touchdown against the Packers. He had a passer rating of 85.2 in a game that was played in single-digit temperatures. Keenum is 10-3 as a starter this season. Keenum has thrown for 3,358 yards with 21 touchdowns and seven interceptions. Chicago quarterback Mitchell Trubisky completed 14 of 23 passes for 193 yards with no touchdowns and no interceptions against the Browns. He had a passer rating of 87.8. Trubisky has completed 176 of 294 passes (59.9 percent) for 2,015 yards with seven touchdowns and seven interceptions this season. He has a passer rating of 78.5.Rushing: Latavius Murray led the way on the ground Saturday, rushing for 69 yards on 21 carries, while Jerick McKinnon added 42 yards on seven carries. The Vikings hit the 100-yard mark as a team for the 12th time in 15 games. Murray leads the Vikings with 731 yards and six touchdowns this season. McKinnon has 526 yards and three touchdowns. The Vikings rushed for 112 total yards Sunday, and rank eighth in the NFL with 120.7 rushing yards per game. Chicago ran for 97 yards on 31 carries against the Browns. Jordan Howard had 44 yards and two touchdowns on 22 attempts, and Trubisky had 44 yards and a score on seven carries. Howard leads Chicago with 1,113 yards and has nine touchdowns on the ground. Rookie running back Tarik Cohen has 357 yards and two scores. Trubisky also has a pair of rushing touchdowns. The Bears rank 11th in rushing with 117.2 yards per game.Receiving: Stefon Diggs led the Vikings with 60 receiving yards and a touchdown on five receptions. David Morgan had 26 receiving yards and Adam Thielen had 24 yards against Green Bay. Thielen now has 85 receptions for 1,215 yards and four scores on the season. He ranks fifth in the NFL in receiving yards. Kyle Rudolph leads the Vikings with eight touchdown receptions, which is one off of his career high. Diggs has seven scores on the year, a career high. Benny Cunningham led the Bears with 62 yards on two catches Sunday, and wide receiver Josh Bellamy had three receptions for 49 yards. Kendall Wright leads the Bears with 54 catches for 585 receiving yards. Bellamy has 346 yards, and Cohen has 344 yards. Tight end Adam Shaheen has a team-high three touchdown catches.Defense: The Vikings pitched a shutout Saturday night at Lambeau Field, Minnesota’s first shutout since 1993 against any team, first shutout at Green Bay and first shutout of the Packers since 1971. Minnesota’s defense gave up 239 total yards and allowed just 126 net passing yards. The Vikings forced a pair of turnovers, as safety Harrison Smith nabbed two picks against Packers quarterback Brett Hundley. Smith leads Minnesota with five interceptions, which ties a career high. Everson Griffen leads the Vikings with 13 sacks, which is a career high, and he is also tops on the team with three forced fumbles. Minnesota ranks first in the NFL in both yards allowed per game (280.9) and points allowed per game (16.1). Chicago allowed 253 yards of offense to Cleveland. Sam Acho and Akiem Hicks split a sack for the Bears, who got interceptions from Bryce Callahan and Kyle Fuller. Hicks leads Chicago with 8.5 sacks. Callahan, Fuller and Eddie Jackson are tied for the team lead with two interceptions. The Bears rank eighth in yards allowed per game (318.5) and are 10th in the league in points allowed per game (19.7).Special Teams: Vikings kicker Kai Forbath made all three field goal tries against Green Bay and hit his lone extra point. He is 32 of 37 on field goals this season. Punter Ryan Quigley averaged 39.6 yards on seven punts and had two of them downed inside the 20-yard line. Chicago kicker Mike Nugent made his three extra point tries Sunday and did not attempt a field goal attempt. He has made all three field goal tries in three games with Chicago. Bears punter Pat O’Donnell averages 46.6 yards per punt.Over The Years The Vikings are 59-52-2 all-time against Chicago, a series that includes one playoff matchup. Vikings Head Coach Mike Zimmer is 4-2 against the Bears since taking over in 2014. That stretch includes a series sweep in 2015 when the Vikings won the NFC North. Minnesota has swept the season series 16 times and can do so Sunday. Minnesota’s longest win streak in the rivalry in eight games, a streak that spanned from 1972 to 1976. Chicago’s longest win streak is six games, a stretch the Bears have achieved twice.Last Meeting: Vikings 20, Bears 17, Oct. 9, 2017, in Chicago The Vikings had won just once in their previous seven trips to Soldier Field before getting a victory on Monday Night Football in Week 5. Sam Bradford started at quarterback for Minnesota but left the game due to injury just before halftime and was replaced by Keenum. The Vikings led 3-2 at the half and scored 14 points in the third quarter. Rudolph caught a 13-yard touchdown pass, and McKinnon took a 58-yard run to the end zone. Chicago tied the score at 17 early in the fourth quarter, but Smith intercepted Trubisky with just over two minutes left to set up Forbath’s 26-yard, game-winning field goal. Keenum completed 17 of 21 passes for 140 yards. McKinnon ran for 95 yards and had 51 more through the air. Griffen had a sack and forced fumble for the Vikings defense, which allowed 274 total yards. Minnesota entered the game with a 2-2 record, but the victory helped jump-start an eight-game win streak.

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