D’Andre Swift among five Bears to watch in NFL Week 11 game vs Vikings

The Chicago Bears had an 85.2% win probability entering the fourth quarter against the Minnesota Vikings in Week 1 at Soldier Field. As everyone knows, J.J. McCarthy helped lead his team to overcome an 11-point deficit to win 27-24 on Monday Night Football. A lot has changed for both teams since that game.

Instead of losing games in the fourth quarter, the Bears (6-3) have found ways to win with Caleb Williams‘ clutch performances at the end of games. McCarthy missed the next five games because of an ankle injury he sustained in Chicago and will be making just his fifth career NFL start on Sunday at U.S. Bank Stadium against the Bears.

[READ: Caleb Williams’ sixth sense creates opportunities for Bears’ offense]

What hasn’t changed, though, is the Bears’ need for a win in the NFC North. After losing to the Vikings (4-5) in the home opener, the Detroit Lions convincingly defeated the Bears, 52-21. This Sunday, head coach Ben Johnson will get the opportunity to break even with Minnesota and build off the team’s two-game winning streak.

Here are the five plays to watch in the Bears’ Week 11 road matchup against the Vikings.

D’Andre Swift

In the Week 1 matchup, Williams led the Bears in rushing with his six carries for 58 yards and a touchdown. D’Andre Swift averaged 3.1 yards per carry on 17 rushing attempts for 53 yards. It took some time, but the Bears’ rushing attack is completely different than what it was through the first four games of the season.

Swift has 113 rushing attempts for 544 yards, four touchdowns and is averaging 4.8 yards per attempt. The veteran running back has found consistency running behind his offensive line and has helped the Bears lead the league in runs of 10 or more yards with 44.

One area that will be critical for Swift is his ability to pass protect, especially when the Vikings bring blitzes through the A gaps, which are the lanes to the left and right of the center.

Drew Dalman

Like with any position in football, communication is key. That is especially true at center, which makes Drew Dalman a key player to watch on Sunday. According to Next Gen Stats, the Vikings are second in the NFL with a 43.1% blitz rate.

[READ: Bears’ Week 11 keys to beating Vikings, boosting NFL playoff hopes]

Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores deploys different defenders at different angles throughout a game. It’s what makes him so difficult to prepare for during a game.

Flores blitzed Williams on 37.2% of his dropbacks in Week 1, the second-highest blitz rate the Bears’ quarterback has faced this season, according to Next Gen Stats. That could be the game plan again come Sunday, but the Bears have to prepare for all possibilities.

Dalman’s communication to help Williams and the rest of the O-line will be huge. He also can’t consistently allow the Vikings’ interior D-lineman to collapse run lanes and dent the pocket. In the first matchup with the Vikings, Dalman allowed a sack and three quarterback hurries.

Montez Sweat

Since Week 7 against the New Orleans Saints, Montez Sweat has been creating problems for opposing offensive linemen and quarterbacks. The 6-foot-6, 262-pound edge rusher has 13 pressures and five sacks in his last four games, giving him 30 total pressures and six sacks on the season, according to Pro Football Focus.

Sweat primarily lines up to the defense’s left side, which means he will go against Vikings’ right tackle Brian O’Neill. The veteran offensive tackle has put together a strong season, only allowing one sack, but has given up five of his eight total quarterback pressures in the last two games against the Baltimore Ravens and Detroit Lions.

[READ: Bears injury report: Jaquan Brisker questionable vs. Vikings; T.J. Edwards out]

This is one of those good-on-good matchups, and whoever can consistently win those reps between Sweat and O’Neill will positively impact the game for their team

Aaron Jones

At Soldier Field in Week 1, Aaron Jones only ran for 23 yards on eight carries against the Bears’ defense. However, the veteran running back did have three receptions for 44 yards, including a 27-yard touchdown catch in the fourth quarter.

The Bears must play Jones more tightly in the pass game. In Chicago’s 24-20 win over the New York Giants last week, running back Devin Singletary finished the game with 3 catches for 53 yards and had a 41-yard reception after linebacker Noah Sewell failed to make a tackle.

Jones has also increased his production as a rusher in the last two weeks. He has 18 total carries for 125 yards and a rushing touchdown against the Lions and Ravens. The Bears have to make the Vikings a one-dimensional team to force McCarthy into more obvious passing situations, which will allow Sweat and the rest of the pass rush to have a higher likelihood of bringing down the quarterback.

Javon Hargrave

Against the Bears’ revamped interior offensive line in Week 1, Javon Hargrave had himself a night in the Week 1 game. Hargrave created seven total pressures and sacked Williams twice in the Vikings’ 27-24 win.

In the other eight games that Hargrave has played this season, the 6-foot-2, 305-pound defensive tackle has just 14 pressures and one sack. Clearly, Hargrave took advantage of his matchups against the Bears, and this Sunday will give him another opportunity to build off that performance.

Williams has worked his magic with evading pass rushers, but it’s a lot more difficult to escape a defender’s grasp if the pressure is coming from the interior. Dalman, right guard Jonah Jackson and left guard Joe Thuney have to work together to prevent Hargrave from wrecking the protection.

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D’Andre Swift among five Bears to watch in NFL Week 11 game vs Vikings

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