The Bears believe they are more likely to see the version of the Vikings that opened the season with five straight wins than the team that struggled at Philadelphia last week when the NFC North rival renews for the first time of 2016 on Monday Night Football.

Bears Head Coach John Fox said falling behind on the road created a situation where the Vikings weren't able to be as balanced as they had been in recent weeks.

"I think what happens is you get in the position where you're trailing and trying to play catch-up, you get one-dimensional, and that's part of football," Fox said this week during a conference call. "I think they've done a great job. Their staff, offensively, defensively and in the kicking game of creating turnovers and controlling the clock and getting points off turnovers. When you're in a game that you're trailing, it's a little harder to do that."

Philadelphia forced the first three turnovers of the season by the Vikings offense by bringing a variety of pressures.

Chicago Defensive Coordinator Vic Fangio was asked about replicating the pressure that the Eagles brought with blitzes and said the Bears won't go out of their way to mimic another team's approach if it is too far off what Chicago's personnel and scheme does best.

"You have to be very careful not to get outside of what you do well and what your players are accustomed to doing," Fangio said. "You start trying to do a bunch of new stuff because you saw it work for somebody else, that invariably leads to problems.

"Those guys were 5-0. The turnovers did them in," Fangio added. "They were doing well until that game. I'm sure they're getting back to basics and trying and cleaning it up that way."

Here are some highlights of what the Bears said about the Vikings this week:

Fangio on Sam Bradford

Fangio said the Vikings deserve credit for the trade they made to bring in Sam Bradford just before the season started to replace injured quarterback Teddy Bridgewater.

"They know they have a good team with a good defense," Fangio said. "They have the misfortune of losing their quarterback, they go out, make a bold move and get [Bradford]. They haven't missed a beat offensively. He's been getting better and better. This guy is capable of leading this team much like Bridgewater was."

Cutler on facing Vikings defense

The Bears have also dealt with injuries at quarterback. Jay Cutler is set to return to his first action since Week 2 when he suffered a thumb injury. Last week, Chicago lost Cutler's replacement, Brian Hoyer to an arm injury.

Cutler has fared well against the Vikings in the past and said he expects a challenge this week.

"Going against a defense like this, it's going to be tough," Cutler said. "They're ranked highly in a lot of different areas and they play well together.

"The more you watch them, you realize how well they play together and how well they know the scheme, the strengths and weaknesses of the defense and where people are trying to take advantage of certain things they do," Cutler added. "Then, on third down, they'll show you [pressure with] double-A stuff and eight [men] up. They've got every combination known to man, so it makes it hard."

Bears Offensive Coordinator Dowell Loggains on the Vikings defense:

"They have depth. They've drafted well," Loggains said. "When you put all of their pieces in that scheme, that's what makes it really tough."

Bears tight end Zach Miller on turnovers forced by the Vikings:

"You watch them on tape, you see them swarming to the football and taking it away," Miller said.

The takeaways, combined with five total giveaways (one interception, four fumbles lost), have the Vikings atop the league in turnover differential. Minnesota forced four turnovers last week, bringing its total this season to 16, but was unable to offset the four it committed in Philadelphia.

Bears outside linebacker Pernell McPhee, who played in his first game of the season in Week 7 against the Packers, predicted a defensive battle for Monday night:

"They've managed the clock pretty good," McPhee said. "They really don't turn the ball over, so I think that's a big key when your offense doesn't turn the ball over and your defense is playing good. It's going to be a defensive game. We're just going to have to outplay their defense."