The Bears (4-6) host the Vikings (8-2) Sunday at Soldier Field in their second of three straight games against NFC North foes in a 12-day span. Here are three things that should increase their chances of winning:

(1) Handle Minnesota's blitzes.

Led by defensive coordinator Brian Flores, the Vikings entered Week 12 blitzing on 39.1% of opponent drop backs, the second highest rate in the NFL. "You know he's going to blitz you," said quarterback Caleb Williams. "He's the king of the cover zero blitz and finding a bunch of different ways to do it."

Guided by new play caller Thomas Brown, the Bears spent the week in practice working on a variety of ways to pick up and try to exploit Minnesota's blitzes. "They do a lot of stuff," said receiver DJ Moore. "They bring a lot of people. You've got to have answers for it. I mean, they're beatable in their coverages, but if you miss, they're getting home."

Williams told reporters that Brown relayed plays into him quickly last Sunday against the Packers, enabling the offense to get to the line of scrimmage with enough time for Williams and his teammates to see how the defense was aligned and make any necessary pre-snap adjustments.

Williams also got the ball out of his hands quickly, spreading it around to different playmakers in space. The Bears no doubt will rely on the rookie quarterback to do the same thing Sunday against the NFL's only defense that features three players with at least 7.0 sacks in outside linebackers Andrew Van Ginkel (8.0), Jonathan Greenard (7.0) and Pat Jones II (7.0).

"It starts with [Williams'] natural ability, his natural ability to get the ball out fast," said coach Matt Eberflus. "Some players don't have that ability. Their release is slow. But his is very fast. I think it helps him. The recognition, the way we set it up on offense, I think will help him also. It's identifying it before the snap, but also it's natural ability to get the ball out."

(2) Generate a consistent pass rush.

Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold leads the NFL with 14 turnovers (10 interceptions and four lost fumbles), but he's also fifth with 19 touchdown passes. Getting to him Sunday—especially without having to blitz—will be vital for a Bears defense that has registered just three sacks in its last three games after averaging 3.3 sacks over its first seven contests.

This season, Darnold has thrown for 2,387 yards with a 100.0 passer rating that ranks 10th in the NFL. According to Next Gen Stats, he leads the league with a 76.4 completion percentage and a 144.3 passer rating versus the blitz and has thrown nine of his 10 interceptions against four-man rushes.

"I've got experience with him going back to his time with the New York Jets when I was in that particular division [coaching the Bills]," said defensive coordinator Eric Washington. "Big, strong guy. Can force and push the football down the field and he has enough movement within the pocket to extend plays if you are not on top of what you need to do from a rush standpoint. Our pass rush needs to be extremely impactful this week and the guys know that to make sure that when this quarterback holds the ball that we're in position to take advantage and get some hits on him. Great challenge, great opportunity for us. We'll be ready to go."

The Bears defense entered Week 12 leading the NFL in red-zone touchdown efficiency (40.6%), tied for the fewest TD passes allowed (7), ranked third in opponent passer rating (72.3) and fourth in third-down efficiency (32.8%).

They'll be challenged by an explosive offense that has scored at least 20 points in nine of 10 games this season and features the only teammates in the NFL with at least 900 yards from scrimmage. Receiver Justin Jefferson is second in the league with 912 yards receiving on 59 receptions, while Aaron Jones is one of five players with at least 600 yards rushing and 250 yards receiving.

"Excellent trio of performers that will complement this offense: Darnold, Jones and Jefferson," Washington said. "These guys do a really good job of making this system go. There are explosive plays throughout this offense and especially from the quarterback position to Mr. Jefferson. They do a really good job of running the football to set up their play-action game. So we're going to have to make sure we're on top of our keys, that we find a way to make this offense one-dimensional. We cannot afford to let this offense have efficiency with their rushing attack, to set up play-action and to execute in that realm and also be in manageable third-down situations."

(3) Build on last Sunday's offensive performance.

In Brown's first game as play caller against the Packers, the Bears generated 391 total yards, converted a season-high 56.3% of their third downs (9 of 16) and scored on four of seven possessions in the game.

If they're able to pick up Sunday where they left off last weekend, it should greatly enhance their chances of registering a victory. But it won't be easy against a Vikings defense that's playing its best football of the season.

After allowing 31 and 30 points in back-to-back losses to the Lions and Rams, Minnesota has rebounded to win its last three games while yielding only 13, 7 and 13 points; 13, 10 and 11 first downs; and 68, 56 and 33 yards rushing.

"Regardless of position, down and distance, it's hard to find weaknesses in this defense," Brown said. "They do a really good job. I don't know Brian Flores all that well, but I've met him a couple times. I think one of the biggest compliments you can get as a coach is your unit takes on your personality. They are aggressive, they are attacking, they are opportunistic, and so it's going to be important for us to go into the game, first and foremost, and play with no fear.

"We're never going to coach fear, never play with fear. For me, that starts first with preparation, because fear and faith only exist in the future, so why fear what hasn't happened yet? So, I think about our guys being able to have confidence in the game plan, to do that based on preparation in the week. Then let it rip, man. We don't fear failure or fear mistakes. We learn from those opportunities and continue to keep swinging."