Reasons for optimism for Bears vs. Vikings in Week 1

The Chicago Bears are gearing up for their season opener against the Minnesota Vikings, which will be aired in prime time on Monday Night Football.

Chicago will be tested early in their first year with head coach Ben Johnson, having two games against NFC North rivals in the Vikings and Detroit Lions in the first two weeks of the season.

Johnson and his work with quarterback Caleb Williams will be the biggest talking point in the early stages of the season, if not throughout the entirety of it. The working relationship between Johnson and Williams feels as it will be the ultimate key to success. But there is plenty of reason to be optimistic about this team on both the offense and defense, especially considering the coaches running the show.

Here are three reasons for optimism as the Bears welcome the Vikings to Soldier Field in the regular season opener:

Caleb Williams' history vs. Vikings

In his two meetings against the Vikings as a rookie, Williams threw for 531 yards, three touchdowns, and zero interceptions,although the team lost both games. One of the biggest highlight plays for Williams last season was against the Vikings when he laid in a 30-yard bomb to D'Andre Swift that fell into the arms of his starting running back. Williams was sacked five times in his two meetings with Minnesota and had two separate coaching staffs in those two games, but his overall play was still there. If he can continue his success against the Vikings with his new coaching staff, then the trend could continue with the positive plays, and the team can hope for a different result in the win-loss column this year.

Injury woes for Minnesota

Similar to the Bears, Minnesota has some key injury questions coming into this matchup, especially to two of their most important players. Veteran safety and defensive leader Harrison Smith is listed as doubtful coming into this game, and left tackle Christian Darrisaw is listed as questionable. Smith's absence feels more likely than Darrisaw's at this point, but either or both will be a tremendous loss to the team. Chicago could have several opportunities to take advantages of Minnesota's losses, but they also have their own injury concerns to worry about as well.

Ben Johnson's track record vs. Brian Flores

When the Bears host the Vikings on Monday Night Football, it'll be the next chapter in the Ben Johnson vs. Brian Flores saga. At this point, Johnson has dominated their meetings, going 4-0 against Flores during his time with the Detroit Lions against Flores as Vikings defensive coordinator. In those four games, the Lions averaged 31 points per game. Now, Johnson is looking to continue that streak as head coach of the Bears.

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This article originally appeared on Bears Wire: Bears vs. Vikings: Reasons for optimism in Week 1