Tuesday 10 October 2017 06:30, UK
The Chicago Bears are entrusting their offence to a rookie quarterback making his first NFL start on Monday Night Football against the Minnesota Vikings, live on Sky Sports Action from 1.15am.
No 2 overall pick in the 2017 Draft Mitchell Trubisky has been called in as Chicago (1-3) desperately look to save their season, while Minnesota (2-2) are eager to avoid a second straight NFC North divisional game after slipping to a 14-7 defeat to the Detroit Lions last week.
So, what can we expect when these two meet under the Monday night lights? We are live on Sky Sports Main Event (401) and Action (407) from 1.15am...
In 140 Characters...
Rookie Bears QB Trubisky makes his first career NFL start on Monday Night Football as Chicago host NFC North rivals Minnesota.
What's the latest?
The Bears have announced that they will hand rookie quarterback Mitchell Trubisky his first start on Monday night against Minnesota. In doing so, Trubisky would be only the third rookie QB selected in the first round to debut on Monday Night Football, joining Chuck Long (Detroit, 1986) and John Reaves (Philadelphia Eagles, 1972).
Minnesota have lost rookie running back Dalvin Cook for the rest of the season after he tore the ACL in his knee in the Week Four defeat to Detroit. But, in slightly better news for the Vikings, Monday night might bring the return of starting QB Sam Bradford, who is officially listed as 'questionable' to play. Bradford has not played since the team's season opener because of troubles with his left knee, but did take part in practice on a limited basis on Saturday.
Stat attack
Minnesota have won four of the last five meetings between the two teams but, historically, have struggled at Soldier Field - the Vikings have won only two of their last 15 trips to play the Bears there in Chicago.
Key battle
This one essentially all comes down to how well Trubisky does against a pretty dominant Vikings defence - Minnesota have conceded the fourth-fewest points in the NFL (76) through four games.
Chicago may well look to help out their rookie QB by opting to run the ball heavily - running back Jordan Howard put in a monster 140-yard and one TD performance in their only win so far, Week Three against the Pittsburgh Steelers - but, the Vikings have the third-best run defence in the league, giving up only 71.2 yards per game. If the Bears can't break that defensive resistance, they won't win.
Game-changer
Wide receiver Stefon Diggs. His Vikings team-mate Kyle Rudolph put it best in his weekly blog for Sky Sports, saying: "Keep an eye on Diggs. If we had a 'primetime' on our team, it would definitely be him. He always seems to find the cameras, loves the cameras.
Diggs is backing it up - he has four touchdowns already on the season, already surpassing his three from last year and matching his 2015 haul. He had a monster 173-yard haul in Week Three against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to go with two of those TDs.
Watch the Minnesota Vikings @ Chicago Bears on Monday Night Football, live on Sky Sports Main Event (401) from 1.15am on Tuesday.
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