MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Kyle Fuller Jerseys 2019 , the Chicago Bears will visit the Minnesota Vikings in the last game on the schedule.For once, this matchup has some meaning.The Vikings, having already ceded the NFC North title to the Bears, have yet to secure a spot in the playoffs. The Bears could still improve their seed and snag that coveted first-round bye, if they win and the Los Angeles Rams also lose at home to San Francisco.If not, the Vikings (8-6-1) would be the likeliest opponent for the Bears (11-4) in the wild-card round next week.“We understand what’s at stake. There’s no magic formula. There’s no button you can push or hours you can put in to suddenly snap your fingers and guarantee a win,” Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins said. “You do all you can, give everything you have.”Last season, though the Vikings needed the victory to secure the second seed in the NFC and the first-round bye , they had clinched the division two weeks earlier while the Bears were bound for last place in the division.The year before that, the biggest drama was the pair of repelling oil pipeline protesters who sneaked past security to climb up a truss connected to the roof and unfurl a large banner as they lowered themselves from the ceiling. Both the Bears and Vikings had already been eliminated from contention.In 2014 at TCF Bank Stadium, the Vikings wrapped up their first of two years outside during the construction of U.S. Bank Stadium with a win over the Bears that determined they’d finish third in the NFC North and not fourth.The two teams did this play-out-the-string thing twice in recent memory at the Metrodome, too. Both teams were eliminated before the 2011 finale, too, when the Bears stopped a five-game losing streak to finish at .500. In 2005, with the Bears resting most of their starters with the division already clinched, a victory by the Vikings wasn’t enough to keep coach Mike Tice from being fired after the game .Well, finally, these rivals have entered their 2018 season closer in the right positions for a tension-filled game on Sunday.“We’re going in there really focused,” Bears quarterback Mitch Trubisky said. “We know we’re going against a really good team.”Here are some other key angles to follow:SCOREBOARD WATCHINGThe NFL arranged the schedule to minimize the anticlimactic outcomes, moving the Bears-Vikings game to the late-afternoon slot so it would be played simultaneously with Eagles-Redskins White Charles Leno Jerseys , Cardinals-Seahawks and 49ers-Rams.The Vikings are guaranteed the last wild-card spot if Philadelphia loses at Washington. They would get the No. 5 seed and a first-round game at Dallas with a win and a loss by Seattle at home to Arizona. Their long-shot scenario is starting the postseason in Los Angeles, if they lose to the Bears and the Rams and Eagles lose, too.“All the hypotheticals or where we would be at or what we are going to be based on the results of this weekend, I know that we’re playing this game to win,” Trubisky said.“We’re going out there with our starters, and we’re competing. For me, it’s an easy mindset. Coach says, ‘Go,’ and we’re going.”NO PAYBACKThe Bears said they’re not seeking payback for Vikings safety Harrison Smith, whose hit on a sliding Trubisky late in the game in Chicago on Nov. 18 drove the second-year quarterback’s throwing shoulder into the ground and wound up sidelining him for the following two games.“I really put it behind me,” Trubisky said. “I didn’t even consider it illegal or anything malicious of that nature.”Last week, 49ers safety Marcell Harris delivered a late hit on a sliding Trubisky, setting off a skirmish that resulted in the ejection of three players.“We’re not about being revengeful or getting back to anybody,” coach Matt Nagy said. “Nothing. None of that.”MACK ATTACKBears linebacker Khalil Mack, who was picked for his fourth Pro Bowl, reached double-digit sacks for the fourth straight year. He has 12½ sacks, with 4½ in the past four games. He’s tied for the NFL lead with six forced fumbles for the Bears, who have 36 takeaways for the most in the league.BETTER PROTECTIONMack and defensive tackle Akiem Hicks helped make the previous matchup, a 25-20 victory by the Bears, miserable for Minnesota’s offensive line. Cousins took only two sacks, but each of them lost 8 yards .Dalvin Cook and Latavius Murray combined for only 18 rushing yards on 13 attempts. The Vikings have blocked better in the past two games Charles Leno Jerseys 2019 , and the improvement down the stretch by rookie right tackle Brian O’Neill has been particularly visible.“We knew at some point it was going to happen,” coach Mike Zimmer said. “He’s just such a good athlete.”NO PLACE LIKE HOMEThe Vikings are 18-6 in the regular season and postseason at U.S. Bank Stadium, and the Bears haven’t won in Minnesota since that final game on the 2011 schedule.“Our team feeds off the crowd and what they bring,” Cousins said. “It’s just a great place to play an NFL football game, and I can’t say enough good things about the venue, the locker room, the facility and the way our fans spur us on.” The hit HBO show “Game of Thrones” that racked up a record 32 Emmy nominations became such a cultural force that it even unintentionally spawned a slogan for one of the NFL’s most tradition-rich divisions.“Defend the North” was a familiar mantra for the mythical characters in the vicious drama. That might as well be the theme of this season for the Chicago Bears, who became NFC North champions last year for the first time since 2010 behind a ferocious defense led by All-Pro edge rusher Khalil Mack.The Bears were the league leader in turnovers forced and points allowed and ranked third in sacks and yards, the biggest reason they went 12-4 in coach Matt Nagy’s first season. Mack, acquired in the blockbuster trade with Oakland eight days before the 2018 opener, is back to headline the unit along with fellow Pro Bowl picks cornerback Kyle Fuller, defensive tackle Akiem Hicks and safety Eddie Jackson.The Bears have plenty of defensive company in this division, though.The Minnesota Vikings, who stumbled to an 8-7-1 record after reaching the NFC title game, kept their deep, experienced group intact for coach Mike Zimmer’s critical sixth year on the sideline. Hey, they even use a wintry, “Game of Thrones”-style pregame hype video in the build-up to kickoff at U.S. Bank Stadium.Sure, the Green Bay Packers are still quarterback Aaron Rodgers‘ team. Their biggest offseason move was to hire Matt LaFleur as their new coach, hoping to have found the NFL’s latest under-40 offensive mastermind. They used free agency to find three new starters on defense, however White Bryce Callahan Jerseys , including signing safety Adrian Amos away from the Bears. One source of optimism for a turnaround in Titletown from a 6-9-1 finish starts with the acumen of defensive coordinator Mike Pettine, who stayed on staff after the changeover from the fired Mike McCarthy.Don’t forget the Detroit Lions, either, despite their 6-10 record in 2018. They’ve begun their second year under coach Matt Patricia , the defensive coordinator for two Super Bowl-winning teams with New England, with a spruced-up front four. They picked up former Patriots defensive end Trey Flowers in free agency and ex-Packers defensive tackle Mike Daniels, a 2017 Pro Bowl pick who became a salary cap casualty, right before training camp.With the Bears (third), Vikings (fourth) and Lions (10th), the NFC North sported three of the top 10 defenses in the league last season in terms of yards allowed. Here’s a closer look at the NFC North quartet in 2019:NEW BOSSThe Bears again ought to be difficult to advance against, with offensive disrupters well established at each of the three levels even if they can’t maintain their torrid takeaway pace of 2018 with 27 interceptions and nine fumbles recovered out of 19 fumbles forced. Chuck Pagano replaced Vic Fangio as defensive coordinator after Fangio took the step up to become Denver’s coach.“We understand what the expectations are. It’s really change the changeable, accept the unchangeable, right? And remove whatever’s not good,” Pagano said.Assuming more progress by quarterback Mitch Trubisky and running back Tarik Cohen in Nagy’s creative scheme, the position that could make or break Chicago’s chance of repeating as division champion for the first time since 2006 is kicker. For now, that person is Eddy Pineiro. He emerged from the drawn-out competition to replace Cody Parkey, who infamously missed a 43-yard field goal in the one-point loss at home to Philadelphia in the playoffs.ON THE REBOUND?The Vikings have failed to finish with a winning record twice in five years under Zimmer (7-9 in 2014 and 8-8 in 2016), and they followed both flops with a division title the next season. They’ll lean on Zimmer’s proud, seasoned defense to try to extend that trend, with all but one starter returning. This group has become so tight-knit that linebacker Anthony Barr couldn’t bring himself to leave in free agency, reneging on a verbal agreement with the New York Jets after a sleepless night in March.The offense under quarterback Kirk Cousins disappeared down the stretch last year. Zimmer’s first remedy was to hire former Denver and Houston coach Gary Kubiak as an offensive adviser. Cousins has a new center Bryce Callahan Jerseys 2019 , Garrett Bradbury, and a dynamic tight end, Irv Smith Jr., thanks to the first two rounds of the draft. Ultimately, Cousins must produce more of those clutch performances in critical games that his NFL resume has so far lacked.“I’m pretty much a .500 quarterback in my career so far, and I don’t think that’s where you want to be,” Cousins said. “That’s not why you’re brought in or why people are excited about you.”QUENCHING FOR THE QBRodgers has entered his 15th season and his 12th as the starter in a new system under LaFleur, who was the offensive coordinator for Tennessee last year. While the once-potent offense in Green Bay has not been nearly as dangerous in recent seasons, the onus falls just as hard on Pettine’s defense to help the Packers return to the playoffs after a rare two-year absence.They signed pass rushers Za’Darius Smith and Preston Smith along with Amos in free agency, and they used first-round draft picks on outside linebacker Rashan Gary and safety Darnell Savage.“It’s just a different feel on that side of the ball,” Rodgers said. “I feel like there’s a little more juice.”TAKE IT AWAYThough the Lions lost seven of their last 10 games last season, the defense finished strong with a total of 27 points allowed over the final four games. Premier run stuffer Damon Harrison Sr. will have Daniels and Flowers on either side, a strengthened front that ought to help the Lions improve upon their second-worst-in-the-league total of 14 turnovers forced last year, and give quarterback Matthew Stafford more support.“It’s going to be scary to see what they can do. From a back-end standpoint, that’s exactly what you want,” said free safety Andrew Adams, one of several additions to the secondary. “We’re all licking our chops.”PREDICTED ORDER OF FINISH:Vikings, Bears, Packers, Lions