The Chicago Bears pretty much had an idea of what they were going to do this Monday night. It’s the Minnesota Vikings. A divisional rivalry. This is a must-win game for both teams. The Bears have lost three straight and sit at 5-4 before the bye week with Green Bay looming on the other side. Minnesota has won two-straight but is 3-5 with their playoff hopes dangling by a threat.
So yeah. Both teams need this game. That is why it figures to be played with a ton of urgency. Up until now, the big story has been the Bears offensive line. Injuries ravaged the group over the past month. James Daniels is done for the year with a torn pec. Bobby Massie is on IR with a knee issue. Cody Whitehair missed the past two games with a calf problem. This isn’t even counting backups like Jason Spriggs and Sam Mustipher who have ailments of their own.
It seems the story could be about to shift though.
Just over 24 hours before the game is set to take place, the Vikings got a piece of troubling news. According to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, guard Dru Samia tested positive for COVID-19. He will not appear in the game. Yet that isn’t the extent of it. Typically when something like this happens, contact tracing determines a number of other players are high risks due to exposure.
Given this was an offensive lineman? It’s possible Minnesota could lose more than just one blocker going into this game. To say nothing of other possible guys on offense.
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#Vikings OL Dru Samia tested positive for COVID-19, source said. Contact tracing being finalized and anyone deemed high risk won’t be allowed to travel for Monday’s game against the #Bears.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) November 15, 2020
Chicago Bears could take advantage if it’s bad
If any team understands this, it would be the Bears. They just got done suffering their own COVID scare a week ago. Spriggs and Whitehair both contracted the virus while Germain Ifedi was forced to miss a few days due to contact tracing. The team was fortunate to get him back for last Sunday because it happened earlier in the week. That Minnesota got this positive test so close to game time makes it doubly brutal.
Their bread and butter on offense is Dalvin Cook running the ball. If he loses key blockers up front, it’s going to make matters that much harder for them. Especially when they’re going against a pretty good Bears defensive line with Akiem Hicks, Khalil Mack, and others. If Cook can’t control the game, things have typically gone bad for Minnesota in a hurt.
It will be interesting to see what information comes out.
The way Pelissero phrased it, expectations are Samia won’t be the only guy who doesn’t see action on Monday night. This could be a fortunate break for the Chicago Bears. One they absolutely can’t let go to waste. Beating the Packers is hard enough. Beating them in the midst of a four-game losing streak? That will be close to impossible.
One thing is for sure. Matt Nagy and Ryan Pace will see their seat heaters crank into overdrive if the Bears lose this one.