3 things the Vikings need to improve heading into Week 4

Fewer penalties (again…)

The Vikings were actually the best they’ve been so far this year against the Raiders when it comes to drawing flags.

Minnesota penalized a total of six times for 59 yards. While the improvement is welcomed, it would still be nice to see the team cut that number down further, especially against an opponent of the caliber of the Bears.

In Week 1, the Vikings were jumping offsides in key situations and this led to the Atlanta Falcons getting a few free first downs. In Week 2, the refs were flat out flag happy and called some bizarre offensive pass interference calls against Minnesota’s pass-catchers. Last week, the Vikings had some offensive holding penalties called on the big men up front and a couple of illegal blocks in the back against their receivers downfield.

From game to game, Minnesota has been able to improve the area they were most getting flagged in the prior week, so that is good to see.

The Vikings will need to have a very clean game to win at Soldier Field against Chicago. Minnesota will be playing in a very hostile environment and the Bears fans will be loud and fired up.

The Vikings can’t allow Chicago to get second chances on drives by jumping offsides or setting themselves back in early down situations by holding on the first or second play of a drive. Minnesota has to be much cleaner on both sides of the ball if they are finally going to beat the Bears and get this big orange and navy monkey off of their backs.