The Minnesota Vikings have exceeded all expectations this year. The Chicago Bears haven’t exceeded anyone’s expectations this year.

Tonight’s Monday Night Football matchup features two division rivals going in opposite directions. The Vikings have won six straight. The Bears have lost seven straight. Will Monday night’s game change that? We sat down with the Daily Norseman’s Christopher Gates to find out why Minneapolis continues to be buzzing.

1. With the Vikings now at 11-2, it’s fair to say they won’t be slowing down. They may not win the division thanks to the 12-1 Lions, but how well the Vikings play, what kind of playoff run would they need to make for this season to be considered a successful season? Or would it be successful even if they were eliminated in the wildcard round?

I think this has already been a successful season for the Vikings, at least compared to preseason expectations. Coming into the season, most sportsbooks had the Vikings over/under between 5.5 and 6.5, so they have already far exceeded that. Considering this was largely viewed as a throwaway season while the Vikings sorted out their international situation and prepared for the JJ McCarthy era, I don’t think it’s fair to say this wasn’t a successful season. Sure, if it ends with something other than a Super Bowl It will be disappointing, but 31 out of 32 teams end in disappointment every year. A strong playoff run would be fun, but even if they get eliminated early, I think there’s a lot of good in what happened this season and the direction the team is headed.

2. As the Bears search for a new head coach, the names Mike Vrabel and Ben Johnson keep coming up, but one name that comes up from time to time is Brian Flores. Flores was fantastic as the Vikings’ defensive coordinator, but what do you think about Flores becoming head coach again after never getting the offense right in Miami?

Honestly, I’m not sure what the chances are of Flores becoming a head coach again while he has an active lawsuit against the NFL. He couldn’t even get an interview last season after bringing the Vikings’ defense back from the dead (even though they were faltering after a series of injuries), but I just don’t see any of the NFL owners willing to give him the head coaching job , as long as he sues the league. I think he definitely deserves another shot at a head coaching job considering what happened between him and the owner in Miami, but I also kind of selfishly want him to stay in Minnesota as long as he does he wants to be here. If he ends up getting a head coaching job again, whether in Chicago or elsewhere, I think he would find a solid offensive coordinator to handle things.

3. I don’t think it’s fair to call the middle of Sam Darnold’s season a slump, but he wasn’t quite as strong as he was at the start of the season, but he seems to have found his way back to form over the last few years weeks. Is there any talk of Sam Darnold returning next year or will they let him go and go for rookie JJ McCarthy?

I still believe that if Darnold doesn’t lead the Vikings to the Super Bowl this season, the chances of him being back with Minnesota next season are very slim. He’s quickly valuing himself out of Minnesota’s reach, and after going through the Kirk Cousins ​​contract cycle for six seasons, I don’t think Kwesi Adofo-Mensah is as willing to put this team in a similar cycle with Darnold again. The Vikings are expected to have a ton of salary cap space through 2025 even with Justin Jefferson and Christian Darrisaw’s extensions already done, and I think they want the opportunity to build this team around their philosophy, including that Advantages they have of a quarterback with a rookie contract. If Darnold leads the Vikings to the Super Bowl, all bets are off, but otherwise I fully believe Sam Darnold will get a ton of money to start elsewhere in 2025.

4. You asked me this question last time and I really liked it, so I will ask you this question this time. If you could take any player other than Jaylon Johnson from the Chicago Bears roster and add him to the Vikings roster, who would it be and why?

I would probably have to go with Gervon Dexter Sr. The Vikings have been much better than expected defensively, but they still don’t get much of a pass rush from the interior. I think a player like Dexter would be able to rotate into the Vikings’ front in obvious passing situations and provide the kind of pressure in the middle that they don’t really get on a regular basis. It would be interesting to see how Brian Flores would utilize a player with his skill set in this defense. Again, I was thinking about Rome Odunze, even though the Vikings are pretty solid at the receiver spot, but I think Dexter would be my first choice.

5. The Bears have lost seven straight, the Vikings are humming and the point spread is a full touchdown. Do you think the point spread should be even bigger in this Minnesota game? How do you think this game will play out?

I hate to predict an overwhelming win in a divisional game, but it appears that things are trending that way in this game. Last week against San Francisco, from the parts of the game I saw, it looks like the Bears have a lot of players who have checked out for the year and the offense under Thomas Brown still looks pretty tough . I know the last game between these two teams was a bit dramatic and ended up being decided by a field goal, but the Bears have taken a few punches in the gut since then, including the strange loss on Thanksgiving, the firing of Matt Eberflus and ruined the win last week. The Vikings know what’s at stake in this game, and I don’t think Kevin O’Connell will let off the gas pedal or anything like that. The seven-point spread is pretty big, but I think the Vikings will cover it as long as they play their game like they have during their current winning streak.