Mitchell Trubisky understands how high the stakes are. | Forum

The Chicago Bears have a chance to tighten their grip on the NFC North lead and demonstrate just how far they have come when they host the defending division champion Minnesota Vikings in a prime-time showdown for first place Sunday night."It's a huge opportunity to show the world what we're about and make a statement in our division Youth Danny Trevathan Jerseys ," Trubisky said.It has been a long time since the Bears (6-3) have been in a spot like this.They endured four straight last-place finishes before a resurgence this year brought on by an offseason overhaul and the progress of Trubisky, their prized quarterback, in his second season.They're in sole possession of the division lead for the first time since 2013. They've won three in a row for the second time this season after beating Detroit last week to snap a 10-game skid against division opponents.And a victory over Minnesota (5-3-1) would give the Bears their longest win streak since a six-game run in 2012. But the Vikings are also on a roll, having won four of five.Both teams boast top-five defenses. Chicago leads the NFL with 16 interceptions and ranks second in takeaways with 24.Points could be hard to come by for both teams."TV-wise, it's probably boring, you know?" Vikings defensive tackle Sheldon Richardson said. "Guys don't want to sit there and watch an 8-7 game, but those games are fun for us. They might not be fun for the offense, but they're still fun for us."Some things to know before the Vikings-Bears showdown:EYES OPENChicago coach Matt Nagy's scheme uses a lot of pre-snap motions by running backs and wide receivers designed to confuse the defense. But the Vikings have faced plenty of that in previous games against the Rams and Eagles."Still got to hike the ball," Richardson said. "It don't mess with us too much. Don't get caught up in the eye candy. That's it. Read your keys. They'll tell you where they're going."Of course, whatever Nagy has shown over the first nine games is just a snapshot of what's in that complex playbook."There's no doubt in my mind we're going to get new plays," Zimmer said Cheap David Montgomery Jersey , adding: "Every week you're going to get new plays, you're going to get new formations, you're going to get new personnel groups. That's part of the NFL."FOR KICKSChances are, Bears kicker Cody Parkey will never have another week like this.Hitting uprights four times while missing two extra points and two field goals against Detroit was just the start.Jimmy Fallon poked fun at him on "The Tonight Show," saying: "In his defense, that's actually way harder to do. That's pretty awesome. Then after the game, it took him four tries to get through the locker room door."Several Chicago TV stations sent helicopters to shoot footage when he practiced at Soldier Field on Wednesday night.Parkey is 13 of 18 on field goals after signing with Chicago in March. At 72.2 percent, that's below the 86.4 rate he had in his first four seasons with Philadelphia, Cleveland and Miami.SETTLING INTrubisky debuted against Minnesota in Week 5 last season in a loss at home. He's looking a little more comfortable these days.Trubisky tied a franchise record last week with his fourth 300-yard passing game, throwing for a career-best 355 yards and three touchdowns. He went 23 for 30 and had a 148.6 rating.In last year's game at Soldier Field, he was 12 of 25 with 128 yards. He wasn't great David Montgomery Chicago Bears Jerseys , either, in the finale at Minnesota, going 20 of 36 for 178 yards.PRIME TIMERSThis is one of two games on the NFL's Sunday night showcase over the next four weeks for each team.The Bears had their game against the Rams flexed to Sunday night on Dec. 9, just like this game against the Vikings was. The Vikings host the Packers on Nov. 25 on Sunday night. They also have a Monday night game at Seattle on Dec. 10.SWEET HOMECousins grew up in the northwest Chicago suburb of Barrington, and his allegiance to the Bears held strong well after his family moved to Michigan at age 13. Walter Payton's children attended the same grade school as Cousins. His youth football coach knew Mike Singletary. His father, a pastor, held some team chapels for the Bears. Though Cousins was born more than two years after the Bears won Super Bowl 20, he was well aware of the legend of that star-studded team.Cousins has played at Chicago twice, in 2015 and 2016 with Washington, but it's still a special trip, one of those games during the season "where you pinch yourself a little bit to realize you're living a dream playing at Soldier Field on Sunday night football."Fan Journal: Bears blowout elicits best home atmosphere in years On Sunday Chicago Bears Jerseys Stitched , I was able to head out to Soldier Field to see the Chicago Bears take on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. While I was unable to take my usual day-after recap this week - ECD did a great job in my absence -I got to enjoy the game like a true fan, which is something I haven’t been able to do in quite a while.The Bears entered the matchup with a 2-1 record, and they had momentum on their side coming off of two straight wins. Combine that with the hot play of the Buccaneers heading into the game, and I expected a game that the crowd would be invested in from start to finish. In a way, I was right, but it wasn’t for the reason I had expected.The Bears jumped out to a lead less than three minutes into the first quarter off of a touchdown pass from Mitchell Trubisky to Trey Burton on a wheel route. Considering Trubisky’s relative lack of flashy plays on deep passes, the play served as a confidence booster for both the quarterback, the team and the fans. Little did we know that that pass was just a taste of what was to come.Trubisky, in case you haven’t heard already, went on to throw six touchdowns, four more than his career-high up to that point. Add in 354 passing yards David Montgomery Jersey 2019 , a 73.1 completion percentage, no interceptions and 53 yards on the ground, and the Bears’ 2017 first-round pick put together the best game of his young career en route to a 48-10 victory.Chicago’s defense was spectacular, too. They limited Ryan Fitzpatrick to 126 passing yards and a 50 percent completion percentage, picking him off once and sacking him twice. Jameis Winston, who made his return from a three-game suspension, was picked off twice and sacked twice. The Bears held the Buccaneers to 311 offensive yards, they put consistent pressure on the quarterback, and they continued to force turnovers in ways that last year’s defense struggled to do. Khalil Mack picked up a fumble and a sack. Again. Eddie Jackson snagged his second interception of the season. Even fifth-round rookie Bilal Nichols had a fantastic game, ending up with 2.5 tackles for a loss and half of a sack.Amid their team’s dominance on both sides of the ball, Bears fans cheered every step of the way. Over the past few years David Montgomery Jersey Color Rush , Soldier Field has been plagued by poor attendance and several no-shows, but one would not have been able to tell based off of Sunday’s game. The crowd was red hot in the first half, and those who didn’t choose to beat traffic still maintained a palpable amount of energy. I started losing my voice in the first quarter, which shows how much fun being at the game in person was.For the first time in years, there was hope in the air along Lake Michigan. After years of despair, Bears fans got to experience a truly dominant team. And I’m glad I got to be a part of it.Jacob Infante is a Chicago Bears writer at SB Nation’s Windy City Gridiron. He is also the lead NFL Draft analyst for The Blitz Network, and he additionally covers the NFL Draft for USA Today’s Draft Wire. He can be reached through Twitter @jacobinfante24 or e-mailed at jacobinfante1208@gmail.com.