Bears defensive coordinator Alan Williams likened the job of trying to manage Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson and running back Dalvin Cook to having “a full plate.”
“Not to diminish the other guys on the team, but those are two dynamic players,” Williams said. “That’s really what creates the problem: They can beat you in two ways. So you have to pick and choose … where you put guys and what you focus on.”
Imagine if he doesn’t have his best cornerback.
Jaylon Johnson missed practice again Thursday, adding doubt to the likelihood of him being available to tangle with Jefferson on Sunday. He has been out since hurting his quad muscle in practice Sept. 22.
That leaves the Bears with unproven rookie Kyler Gordon and Kindle Vildor as their best options.
Undrafted rookie Jaylon Jones also played 25 snaps last week against the Giants. He was back at practice after missing Wednesday because of an illness.
The disparity between Johnson and the rest of the Bears’ cornerbacks was clear in the first two games when he didn’t have a single pass thrown to the player he was covering.
According to Pro Football Reference, quarterbacks have completed 20 of 29 passes for 305 yards and a touchdown when throwing Gordon’s way, and they’ve gone 12 of 18 for 158 yards and a touchdown against Vildor.
It was like that last season, too, when Johnson was the only Bears cornerback to hold quarterbacks under 69% completions when they threw at him.
Jefferson, meanwhile, is arguably the toughest wide receiver to cover in the NFL and has 28 catches for 393 yards and two touchdowns.
The Vikings also have nine-year veteran Adam Thielen, who had 726 yards and 10 touchdowns last season, and productive No. 3 receiver K.J. Osborn. The only Bears receiver with more yardage than Osborn (118) is Darnell Mooney (121).
