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The NFL decided to schedule a pair of NFC North divisional matchups right away in Week 1. After the Green Bay Packers crushed the Detroit Lions on Sunday, it was the Minnesota Vikings‘ turn to declaw the Chicago Bears, 27-24, on Monday night.
Both quarterbacks were set for their first starts in a new offense, though J.J. McCarthy was making his first career NFL start, and at times it showed. But so did his championship pedigree. Meanwhile, Caleb Williams looks like a much different player with Ben Johnson’s help. Overall, who were the biggest winners and losers from another great primetime battle?
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It turns out, coaching can make a big difference from one year to the next. While Dennis Allen’s defense has elite potential, the offense has long been the Bears’ biggest weakness. With coach Ben Johnson calling the shots, the Bears look like they have a team that can compete on both sides of the ball, and folks in Chicago haven’t seen that for quite some time.
Johnson’s offense made what normally is a good Vikings defense look amateur early on with Williams rarely looking like he would run out of time. It’s one game, but so far it looks like the Bears made a pair of home run hires, and fans should be particularly excited about the offense.
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While Johnson brings exciting potential to the Windy City, Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell is already heading into his fourth season at the helm. He realized his young quarterback was struggling, so he found different ways to get the ground game going, and drew up easy looks for McCarthy, including some screen passes.
Yet, it was also the little things, like in the fourth quarter when the Vikings were taking the kick return with a 27-24 lead and 2:02 seconds on the clock. O’Connell could be seen telling return man Ty Chandler to take the ball out of the end zone, only to make sure the Bears wouldn’t have the advantage of an extra clock stoppage timeout. No wonder O’Connell has a 13 and 14 win season on his coaching resume.
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The Vikings didn’t have their best offensive lineman, with McCarthy’s blindside protector Christian Darrisaw still returning from last season’s ACL tear. His replacement Justin Skule had his name called several times, which is never a good sign for the typically invisible offensive lineman. But he wasn’t the only player allowing pressures early on. Rookie first-round pick Donovan Jackson could also be seen getting pushed back into McCarthy too.
Yet, this unit turned things around in the second half, allowing the running game to sizzle. Jordan Mason in particular helped wear...
