Beat the Bears. The Lions lose. Jordan Addison fills the Justin Jefferson role.
If those things happen, some hope will be restored and the Vikings would give themselves a chance to change the narrative and shock the 49ers on a national stage next week.
The route to a perfect Sunday starts at 12 p.m. CT when the Vikings and Bears kick off in Chicago. The Windy City will be just that as the weather forecast calls for a chance of lake-effect rain and winds gusting to 30 mph.
A win over Chicago — especially a convincing one — would get Minnesota to 2-4 ahead of next Monday night’s home game against the 49ers. Imagine a world where the Vikings are 3-4, riding high after back to back wins while the Lions lose on the road to the Bucs and Ravens and sit just one game head of Minnesota at 4-3.
Long shot? Oh yeah. But it’s not impossible.
Then imagine the Vikings beating the Packers at Lambeau in Week 8 to get back to .500. Just like that the Vikings are legit again and Jefferson could be on the verge of returning. Speaking of Jefferson, the perfect Sunday for the Vikings would include Addison rising to the occasion in the wake of Jefferson’s hamstring injury.
Jefferson is Minnesota’s best player and losing him for any amount of time is a punch to the gut, but the Vikings still have a strong supporting cast featuring Addison, K.J. Osborn and T.J. Hockenson.
All of them should thrive against a Bears defense that is terrible. Through five games the Bears defense owns the second-lowest overall grade from Pro Football Focus. They’ve been strong against the run but their pass rush ranks dead last and their coverage grade is fourth worst.
Will it be a perfect Sunday? We’ll find out. If it happens, some hope will be restored and then the Vikings have a chance to really punch back at naysayers against San Francisco next Monday night.
