It’s showtime in prime time

The GIST: Buckle up. It’s almost time for some Bears Monday Night Football.

🏈Where da Bears stand: The Bears enter tonight’s game against the Minnesota Vikings on a three-game losing streak, during which QB Nick Foles has taken 12 sacks, thrown three interceptions, and averaged only six and a half yards per pass attempt. Not good.

• Defensively, the Bears have continued to impress, earning five sacks and limiting opponents’ fourth-quarter scoring to a total of 17 points over the last three games. But, as the saying goes, you’re only as strong as your weakest link, and that weak link is the offense.

• In an attempt to improve on the other side of the ball, head coach Matt Nagy is finally handing off play-calling duties to offensive coordinator Bill Lazor. Fans are having… a lot of feelings.

The matchup: The Vikings are coming off back-to-back wins — a success they attribute to a decrease in turnovers, also a focus for them facing Chicago. If the Bears’ defense can force pressure on Kirk Cousins and the Vikings’ offense, they might be able to create more opportunities for Foles and his squad.

• Since 2018, the Bears are 4-0 against the Vikings and will be looking to make it 5-0 when they kickoff tonight at 8:15 p.m. ET/7:15 p.m. CT.

🏈⚾️🏀The Chicagoland rundown: While we count down the hours until kickoff, here’s a few highlights for our other Windy City teams:

• With Saturday’s win over Purdue under their belts, Northwestern’s next game against the Wisconsin Badgers is absolutely crucial — the winner will take the Big 10 West championship and have a shot at the conference championship.
  

• Last week, White Sox first baseman José Abreu won American League MVP, and his teammates went wild celebrating him. S’cute.
  

• The Chicago Bulls enter the 2020 NBA Draft on Wednesday with the No. 4 pick overall, and we’re hoping they’ll snag a baller as fresh as these new city jerseys.

🥊One last thing: We’ve partnered with our friends at BoxUnion to bring our regional GISTers a complimentary LIVE fitness class on Saturday, November 21st at 11 a.m. ET/10 a.m. CT. Register here for the class, plus the chance to win a three-month subscription to BoxUnion Digital and exclusive GIST swag.