Bears-Vikings matchup on Monday night puts spotlight on 2024 QB draft class with Williams, McCarthy

BetMGM NFL Odds: Vikings by 1½.

Series record: Vikings lead 68-58-2.

Last meeting: Vikings beat Bears 30-12 on Dec. 16, 2024, in Minneapolis.

Vikings offense: overall (12), rush (19t), pass (6), scoring (9).

Vikings defense: overall (16), rush (2), pass (28), scoring (5).

Bears offense: overall (32), rush (25), pass (31), scoring (28t).

Bears defense: overall (27), rush (28), pass (16), scoring (13).

Turnover differential: Vikings plus-12; Bears plus-8.

Vikings player to watch

QB J.J. McCarthy. The 10th overall pick in the 2024 draft makes his delayed debut, after a knee injury in the first preseason game last year forced him to have season-ending surgery while the Vikings turned to Sam Darnold. After helping Darnold revive his career and winning the NFL Coach of the Year award last season, Vikings coach Kevin O'Connell has been busy guiding the eager McCarthy, whose demeanor and determination have already impressed the team enough to have been voted as one of eight captains despite never playing a snap in a regular-season game. With dozens of relatives and friends in attendance in his home state, McCarthy must play without his No. 2 wide receiver, Jordan Addison, who's serving a three-game suspension for violating the league's substance abuse policy.

Bears player to watch

QB Caleb Williams. The Bears hired an offensive-minded head coach in Ben Johnson and revamped their offensive line, most notably acquiring two-time All-Pro guard Joe Thuney from Kansas City. It's time for Williams to show he can be the franchise quarterback the Bears have long lacked, after a choppy rookie season for the No. 1 overall draft pick in 2024 who won the Heisman Trophy at USC. Though Williams threw for a team rookie-record 3,541 yards with just six interceptions, he was sacked a franchise-worst and league-high 68 times as his offensive coordinator (Shane Waldron) and then head coach (Matt Eberflus) were fired along the way.

Key matchup

Minnesota WR Justin Jefferson against Chicago's secondary. A matchup between the two-time All-Pro Jefferson and two-time Pro Bowl CB Jaylon Johnson is made for prime time. But with Johnson working his way back from a groin injury, it's not clear if that will happen. He missed all preseason practices after he was hurt working out prior to training camp. Jefferson has 50 receptions for 685 yards and three touchdowns in eight games against the Bears, though he was limited last season with 27 yards in Minnesota's overtime win at Soldier Field in Week 12 and 73 yards and a touchdown in the Vikings' win at home in Week 15.

Key injuries

Vikings: FB C.J. Ham (knee) is on injured reserve with a designation to return after a minimum of four games, marking the first time O'Connell will coach without the two-time Pro Bowl pick and 10-year veteran. ... FS Harrison Smith has begun to ramp up in his recovery from a personal health matter, but he did not practice on Wednesday and his status for this week is in question. ... Other players who missed significant chunks of training camp, WR Jalen Nailor (hand) and OLB Andrew Van Ginkel, have resumed practicing this week.

Bears: CB Terell Smith (knee) suffered a season-ending injury in the preseason. ... RBs Deion Hankins (quad) and Travis Homer (calf) are on injured reserve, as is DE Austin Booker (knee).

Series notes

Minnesota has won seven of the past eight meetings, including both games last season. The Vikings blew an 11-point lead in the final 22 seconds of regulation in Week 12 at Soldier Field, only to win 30-27 in overtime on Parker Romo’s game-ending 29-yard field goal. The Vikings easily beat the Bears in Week 15, their only Monday night game last season. Minnesota has won five straight games in Chicago, last losing at Soldier Field in 2019.

Stats and stuff

The Bears are getting tested right from the start by the top two teams in the NFC North from last season, with a home game against Minnesota followed by a trip to Detroit. The Vikings and defending NFC North champion Lions were a combined 29-5 in the regular season. ... The Vikings had the second-most regular-season wins in 2024 in their 64-year history. ... McCarthy went 27-1 as a starter at Michigan, culminating with a win in the national championship game. ... Jefferson needs six receptions to become the youngest player in league history at 26 years and 84 days to reach 500 catches. ... Jefferson, Addison and Nailor gave the Vikings three players with at least six TD receptions last season, only the second time in team history they hit those benchmarks. Randy Moss, Nate Burleson and Marcus Robinson did it in 2004. ... Vikings OLB Jonathan Greenard tied for fifth in the NFL with a career-high sacks (12) last season in his debut with the team. ... Chicago has six straight non-winning seasons and just three playoff appearances since the 2006 team advanced to the Super Bowl. ... Johnson, a rookie head coach, spent the past three seasons as Detroit's offensive coordinator and joined the Lions staff in 2019. ... WR D.J. Moore led the Bears with a career-high 98 receptions for 966 yards. ... RB D’Andre Swift had 959 yards rushing and 386 yards receiving in his first season with the Bears, though he went from making the Pro Bowl with Philadelphia in 2023 to averaging a career-worst 3.8 yards per carry a year ago. ... K Cairo Santos broke his own team record with eight field goals of 50 yards or more, including a winning 51-yarder in the season finale at Green Bay. ... P Tory Taylor set franchise records for gross punting average (47.7 yards) and net average (41.6) as a rookie last season.

Fantasy tip

Given the playmakers the Vikings have on the edge and in their secondary, their defense is worth a start, particularly with the Bears adapting to a new system under Johnson.

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