The Minnesota Vikings bring an 8-2 record into their Week 12 matchup with the Chicago Bears. It's already deep into the season, but Minnesota will be getting their first look at the division rival Bears this weekend, with their second matchup coming just three weeks later in Week 15.
Even with the Bears coming into the game with a sub-par 4-6 record, Minnesota knows that they can never take any matchup in the NFC North lightly, as it's a division filled with tough rivalries and heightened expectations.
Minnesota has gotten things back on track after losing two games in a row, now rattling off a three-game win streak and hoping to extend it to four games this weekend.
On the opposite side, Chicago has hit a rough patch lately, as their heartbreaking Hail Mary loss to the Washington Commanders started a four-game skid for the Bears.
Chicago is still a dangerous team, and Minnesota will need to bring their A-game if they want to win, so what are some issues that the Vikings need to fix ahead of their matchup?
Problems the Minnesota Vikings need to fix before facing the Chicago Bears in Week 12
1. Bench Jalen Nailor
After a hot start to the season, third-year wide receiver Jalen Nailor has come crashing down to Earth in recent weeks, and his mistakes are becoming more and more egregious.
Nailor has had major issues recently with dropped passes, and this past weekend, he dropped a sure-fire touchdown that would have sealed the Vikings' victory.
Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell needs to make a statement to Nailor this upcoming week and show that the drop issue needs to be fixed ASAP.
Nailor has shown flashes that he can be a formidable deep-threat receiver, but if he can't haul in the passes, he is of no use to the Vikings.
Brandon Powell has shown that he is capable of handling work as a WR3 for Minnesota, and he has earned the right to see more chances over Nailor.
2. Stop running the ball up the middle
The Minnesota Vikings have seen a great improvement in their run game this season compared to last season, but one problem remains: interior blocking ability.
The Vikings guards and center trio are just not getting the job done, so Minnesota needs to cut back on their use of running plays up the middle. Minnesota needs to stop digging holes, and losing yards on runs up the middle is just another example of wasted plays for the Vikings.
More often than not, one of the guards or center Garrett Bradbury loses their matchup up the middle, and it immediately tanks the run before the play can even develop.
The more that Minnesota can take Bradbury, Blake Brandel, and either Dalton Risner or Ed Ingram out of plays, the better, as they have not been particularly good at their assignments in 2024.
On the other hand, the tackle duo of Brian O'Neill and newly acquired Cam Robinson have done a solid job this season, and add in that Minnesota has blocking-extraordinaire Josh Oliver at tight end (though he may miss this upcoming game), and outside running seems to be a smarter decision.
3. Give corners more help
The Vikings' smothering defense has shown its flaws in recent weeks, and this past weekend against a very weak Tennessee Titans team continued the worrying trend.
Brian Flores's aggressive defense likes to leave its corners on an "island", but it has become apparent lately that Minnesota's secondary may not be up to that task. Flores may need to make some changes, and helping out the secondary, especially the cornerbacks, needs to be a priority.
Minnesota was able to get to Will Levis a handful of times this past weekend, but they also got burned by Levis a handful of times as well.
With the Vikings' extremely aggressive defensive scheme, the team's defensive backs were often left in 1-1 matchups, and for better or for worse, Levis didn't shy away from slinging the football.
Levis continued to hit his receivers for big plays until Minnesota pulled back on the reigns and gave more help to the secondary, showing that blitzing may not always be the solution on defense.
The Vikings have a talented front four, and could always use Ivan Pace Jr or Blake Cashman on blitz packages, but maybe bringing even more bodies isn't the best answer.