Bears–Vikings Storylines: Austin Booker’s Emergence, Keeping the Pressure on McCarthy, More ...Middle East

Back in Week 1, the Bears let one slip away. They were the better team for most of the afternoon against the Vikings, but they couldn’t land the knockout punch — and quarterback J.J. McCarthy made them pay.

Two months later, the rematch in Minneapolis offers Chicago a chance to show just how far it’s come. The Bears are 6-3, winners of four straight, and finally playing the brand of football Ben Johnson envisioned when he took over. The Vikings, meanwhile, are reeling, with McCarthy struggling and injuries piling up.

Chicago’s formula for payback starts with keeping pressure on the rookie, maintaining Caleb Williams’ composure against Brian Flores’ blitz-heavy defense, and leaning on emerging edge rusher Austin Booker and veteran Montez Sweat to keep the defensive front humming.

Here are a few of the biggest storylines heading into Sunday’s matchup in Minneapolis.

Austin Booker’s Emergence

After a hot start to the preseason, I found myself excited to watch Austin Booker play this season. Unfortunately, a knee injury suffered against the Buffalo Bills in August landed him on the IR, causing him to miss the seven games of the regular season.

Booker made his 2025 debut in Week 9 in Cincinnati, where he worked in a rotational role, lining up outside on obvious pass rush downs, allowing Dayo Odeyingbo to slide inside. Even in a limited capacity, Booker flashed on the tape, just as he did in his limited preseason action. The second-year pass rusher came up with a strip sack that Chicago turned into three points.

With Odeyingbo going down with a season-ending Achilles injury late in that contest, Booker was in line for more work last week when the Giants came to Soldier Field. Booker played in 84 percent of the Bears’ defensive snaps in Week 10 and racked up four tackles, five quarterback pressures, and three hits.

With a heavy workload in Week 10 resulting in solid production, I would expect Booker to get a similar workload against the Vikings in Minnesota this week.

Can Chicago keep the pressure on J.J. McCarthy this time?

The Bears were the better team for three quarters when these two teams met in Week 1 at Soldier Field. Chicago’s crux was their inability to land a knockout punch, letting the Vikings hang around, and allowing quarterback J.J. McCarthy to find a rhythm.

Bears head coach Ben Johnson said this week that Chicago is a different team this time around, and their recent string of games lends to that claim.

If Chicago is going to back up Johnson’s words, they’re going to have to keep the pressure on McCarthy this time. McCarthy has not been good this season, completing just 53.7 percent of his passes, and Minnesota’s offensive line has allowed the 10th-highest pressure rate in the NFL (34.9%).

With Austin Booker emerging as a reliable pass rush option opposite Montez Sweat, and Sweat playing some of the best football he’s played in Chicago (4.5 sacks in his last four games), there’s reason to be optimistic that the Bears can get home on the rush from either side of the defensive line this week and keep McCarthy uncomfortable, and hopefully force him into some turnover worthy plays, an area where Chicago’s defense has thrived this season.

What will Brian Flores throw at Caleb Williams and the Bears offense this time?

Brian Flores flipped the script in Week 1. Caleb Williams and the Bears admitted this week they were ready for a heavy blitz look from Flores and the Vikings the last time they met, but it didn’t come.

“That’s why they get paid the big bucks over there, too,” Williams said during his weekly media availability on Wednesday at Halas Hall. “You expect them to do something when you’re going into a game plan and into a game. It’s kudos to them for being able to completely change it up.”

Despite Flores changing things up on the Bears in their last meeting, his unit leads the league in blitzing, doing so on 58.1 percent of passing plays. If Flores does lean into his extra-rusher tendency more this time, Williams should be fine.

He’s performed well against the blitz this season, throwing eight touchdowns and zero interceptions against extra rushers, and has a 1.7 percent turnover-worthy play rate when blitzed (PFF), one of the lowest in the league.

Regardless of what the look is from Flores, Williams sounds ready for the challenge this week.

“He’s probably one of the more challenging coaches that I’ve had to go against so far in my career,” Williams said. “All 70-plus plays that you have or so, it’s full mental — every single play he’s challenging you to the full mental capacity that you can be at.”

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