The Minnesota Vikings and the Chicago Bears have a great rivalry in the NFC North and the two teams will get it started early this season in Week 2 with Adrian Peterson and company visiting Soldier Field on Sunday to take on Jay Cutler and Brandon Marshall.
The Vikings are looking to rebound from an opening week loss to the Detroit Lions, while the Chicago Bears are riding high after coming back to get the first win for new coach Marc Trestman in his debut. Adrian Peterson got his season started off fast with a 78 yard touchdown run, but he didn't get much else and now he will be trying to do it against a tough Chicago defense. The Vikings will need a solid game from quarterback Christian Ponder to win on Sunday and heading into the game the Bears have the advantage after the way they played against the Bengals last week.
Click here for the Chicago and Minnesota live coverage from Soldier Field.
The Bears have the number of the Minnesota Vikings over the past couple seasons, winning all but one of their last 12 games at home against the division rivals. The Bears will be focusing on their defense on Sunday after getting two interceptions out of Charles Tillman off of Andy Dalton and now the Vikings will try and rebound after a 34-24 loss against the Lions. Ponder had a rough end to the game after throwing three interceptions and he may at least have a star in the making after Jerome Simpson made seven catches for 140 yards.
The team needs more production from the wide receiver position after losing Greg Jennings and Percy Harvin and the offense needs rookie Cordarrelle Patterson to step up. Ponder threw for over 230 yards and had one touchdown and he will need to produce more for the Vikes to make it back to the playoffs and to defeat the Bears on Sunday. Obviously Peterson will be the centerpiece of the offense after rushing for over 2,000 yards last season and after busting out on his first run, he will be looking to have a big game on Sunday as well against the Bears.
The Vikings are ranked 12th in the league in rushing after one game and allowed way too many yards in the loss against the Lions, ranking in the bottom half in the league in passing and rushing yards allowed through one game. The team has the Browns and the Steelers next on the schedule before getting a bye in Week 5 and then the team will have tough games against the Panthers at home and then against the Giants on the road on Monday night football before the team hosts the Packers on Sunday night football.
The Bears are coming in with a tough defense against the run and the team will play the Steelers and Lions next before hosting the Lions and the Giants in Week 6. The team will play against the Redskins on the road before having a bye in Week 8 and then the team will visit the Packers in Green Bay the next week for Monday night football. The Lions and Ravens are next before the Rams and Vikings, while the Cowboys and Browns will be next on the schedule before the Eagles and the Packers to close the season.
Check here for the Vikings and Bears live stream from Week 2.
