There's a ton of familiarity and similarity between the Minnesota Vikings and the Chicago Bears going into their 2025 season-opening matchup on Monday Night Football.

Additionally, there's some room for the unknown as well, particularly at the quarterback position.

Minnesota's J.J. McCarthy and Chicago's Caleb Williams will forever be linked by being a part of the same draft class, with Williams going first overall and McCarthy getting selected nine picks later last year.

Williams showed some early promise by leading the Bears to a 4-2 record, including a three-game winning streak that featured seven touchdowns and just one interception – four of which came against Jacksonville in London. But the ups quickly turned into some downs, with the Bears dropping 10 consecutive games and finishing with a 5-12 record.

Williams closed with several team rookie records, including passing yards (3,541) and touchdowns (20).

Similar to Williams, McCarthy brought early excitement to Vikings fans, throwing a pair of touchdowns and completing 11 of his 17 passes for 188 yards and an interception in his NFL debut during a 24-23 preseason win over the Las Vegas Raiders. Unfortunately, the Vikings QB encountered swelling in his knee a day later, leading to surgery on a torn right meniscus and sitting out for the entire 2024 season.

Monday's game will mark 394 days for McCarthy since his injury, and 501 days since he was selected by the Vikings. The 22-year-old is quite familiar with Chicago and the Bears, having grown up in the suburb La Grange Park about 15 miles away from Soldier Field. In fact, McCarthy's first time attending an NFL game came as a 4-year-old in mid-October 2007, when the Bears coincidentally faced his future team. The Vikings won 34-31.

Just like McCarthy, Williams will also navigate the experience of having a new voice relaying plays to him in his helmet as Bears Head Coach Ben Johnson makes his head coaching debut after serving as the offensive coordinator for the Lions the past three seasons.

Johnson has plenty of familiarity with the Vikings. During his time as offensive coordinator, Detroit went 5-1 against Minnesota, averaging at least 30 points per game and 406 yards per contest.

On the other sideline, Vikings Defensive Coordinator Brian Flores will be tasked with trying to limit the success of Johnson and Williams. According to Pro Football Focus, Flores brought the blitz against Williams on 50.5% of his dropbacks in the two games. Williams, however, was able to handle it somewhat successfully, completing 27 of 39 passing for 308 yards and three touchdowns, including four big-time throws and zero turnover-worthy plays.

Both Johnson and Flores have similar ties in their paths to their respective coaching positions. They're both connected to Boston College – Flores as a player from 1999-2003 and Johnson as a graduate assistant from 2009-10 and a tight ends coach in 2011 – as well as roots in the AFC East. Flores spent 15 years at various scouting and coaching positions with the New England Patriots from 2004-2018 before landing his first head coaching job with the Miami Dolphins, where he spent three seasons.

Johnson also spent time with the Dolphins, although their paths never crossed. Johnson began as an offensive assistant for Miami in 2012 before switching to assistant quarterbacks and wide receivers coach, tight ends coach and wide receivers coach from 2013-2018, right before Flores arrived in 2019.

Another similarity to watch for on Monday is the interior offensive line, as both sides feature three new players – Joe Thuney, Drew Dalman and Jonah Jackson for Chicago, and Will Fries, Ryan Kelly and 2025 first-round draft pick Donovan Jackson for Minnesota.

Monday's game will be the 19th meeting between the Vikings and Bears in their history on MNF. Minnesota holds a slim 10-8 record in the previous 18 matchups, including a 7-3 mark on the road. It will also be just the seventh time in franchise history (first since 2017 against New Orleans) that the Vikings will start their season on MNF, as well as just the sixth meeting all-time between the two teams in a season opener (first since 2002).

The Vikings have won seven of the past eight matchups against Chicago, including a season sweep in 2024 (30-27 in overtime in Chicago in Week 12, and 30-12 in Minnesota in Week 15).

Let's see who the experts are picking to win the game:

Bears 19, Vikings 17 – Gennaro Filice, NFL.com

Heading into the 2025 season, is there a more polarizing player in the entire league than Caleb Williams? Interestingly, last year, he wasn't even the most polarizing quarterback in his own draft cycle. J.J. McCarthy held that distinction, with skeptics degrading his role in Michigan's offense and supporters praising his winning pedigree. Upon arrival in Minnesota, McCarthy promptly turned heads with a flashy preseason debut … but it turned out he suffered a meniscus tear in the game, ending his rookie campaign before it truly started. Meanwhile, Williams helped lead Chicago to a 4-2 start … but then the Bears completely fell apart, emboldening Caleb critics to fully let their hate flags fly. Was his season an utter failure? No, he finished with decent Year 1 stats in a number of categories, showcasing enticing tools in spurts. That said, he just held on to the ball too long, allowing defenders (and detractors) to tee off on the ballyhooed No. 1 overall pick. With all of that in mind, it feels quite fitting for these two lightning rods to close the season's opening week on national television. Who will prevail? Whatever the outcome, the takes undoubtedly will be hot. Ain't nobody maintaining proper perspective with these two. But with one of them making his true NFL debut on the road against a division rival in the Monday night spotlight, I'll take the home 'dog with 17 pro starts under his belt.

Bears 27, Vikings 21 – Pete Prisco, CBS Sports

The Chicago offense with Caleb Williams should be better with Johnson, while McCarthy is a big unknown. Making your first start on the road is always tough. This will be no different. Bears take it in a small upset.

Bears 22, Vikings 20 – Bill Bender, Sporting News

How quickly [will McCarthy] establish a connection with Justin Jefferson – who averaged 50 receiving yards per game against the Bears last season? The Bears nearly beat the Vikings at home last season in a 30-27 thriller. Chicago was 0-4 as a home underdog in 2024. Can they break a five-game home losing streak to an NFC North rival?

Bears 24, Vikings 21 – Vinnie Iyer, Sporting News

The Bears are only slight underdogs going into Chicago in a battle of second-year QBs Caleb Williams and J.J. McCarthy. Williams' starting experience plus the debut of the much-anticipated Ben Johnson offense vs. the Vikings defense gives Chicago the edge over Minnesota and McCarthy the other way around.

6 of 7 experts pick the Vikings, The MMQB

6 of 11 experts pick the Vikings, ESPN

1 of 7 experts pick the Vikings, Bleacher Report

3 of 8 experts pick the Vikings, The Athletic

4 of 6 experts pick the Vikings, USA Today

1 of 5 experts pick the Vikings, NFL.com

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