Bears vs. Vikings: What Experts Are Saying About Chicago

Mercifully, this season is coming to an end this week for the Chicago Bears and their fans. One last visit to division rival Minnesota will wrap up a 2014 season largely considered to be a complete disaster. 

Jay Cutler is back in the fold and many aren't happy with the way the situation was handled. That's just one of the topics experts are talking about this week. 

As you click ahead, you get a prediction on the game, discussion of potential milestones for Matt Forte and a peek to Black Monday. Don't forget to share your thoughts in the comments below.

Head coach Marc Trestman decided to bench starter Jay Cutler going into the Week 16 matchup against the Detroit Lions. One week later, Trestman will turn back to Cutler. 

Backup quarterback Jimmy Clausen suffered a concussion in the meeting against the Lions and has been ruled out this week. Instead of allowing rookie David Fales to start, Trestman called Cutler's name again. 

ESPN's Michael C. Wright thinks going back to Cutler is a bad move:

Trestman mentioned that Cutler gives the Bears the best chance to win, which is absolutely true. But if Cutler's future is truly as murky as the team's recent actions indicate, why risk getting the quarterback hurt, which would diminish his trade value while potentially making the Bears liable for $10 million of the quarterback's $16 million base salary for 2016 if he's still on the roster on the third day of the 2015 league year (March 12)?

Wright is on the money here. Even if the Bears decide to keep Cutler, they must explore all their options for the good of the team, and that all goes out the window if Cutler gets hurt.

Minnesota has a feisty defense and we have seen Cutler take plenty of shots this season. This seems like another desperate and clueless move from Trestman at the end of the year.

As the season comes to a close, it's the Vikings' Teddy Bridgewater who has risen to the top of the rookie quarterback club. 

Bridgewater has completed over 70 percent of his passes in each of his last four games and has seven touchdowns during that time. 

CBSSports.com's Pete Prisco believes Jay Cutler will play well this week, but it will be Bridgewater who will send the Bears to their 11th loss:

Jay Cutler is back in as the starter for the Bears this week with Jimmy Clausen out with a concussion. How does Cutler respond? I say he plays well. It's Marc Trestman's last game, too. The Vikings have played much better on offense in the second half as Teddy Bridgewater has improved. That continues against a bad defense.

Prisco has the Vikings winning 20-13. Considering the Vikings' arrow is trending up and the Bears are spiraling down, it's fair to say we can see this exact score happening.

If the Bears could just press the simulate button on this Week 17 game like the Franchise Mode in Madden, they would be better off. 

The Chicago Sun-Times' Rick Telander believes no good can come from this game. He sees the writing on the wall for Marc Trestman and knows that plays a big factor this week:

There really is nothing good that can come of this game. The consecutive 50-point atrocities against the Bears are in the books. The playoffs are long gone. A 6-10 record doesn’t look much better than a 5-11 one. Marc Trestman probably already knows where he’d like to be an offensive line coach someday.

Telander's correct. The harm has already been done this season. The Bears could blow out the Vikings and Trestman is still likely out.

One of the main reasons to watch this game is to see if Matt Forte can reach some season milestones. 

He's eight catches away from setting a single-season record for most receptions by a running back and needs 13 rushing yards to go over 1,000 for the fifth time in his career. 

Fox Sports' Jay Clemons looks at the numbers for Forte against the Vikings to forecast what he might do this week:

There's a good news/bad news proposition with Bears tailback Matt Forte heading into Week 17: 

Of his last eight outings against Minnesota, Forte holds rock-solid averages of 118 total yards. On the down side, Forte hasn't scored against the division-rival Vikings in six years. 

Forte should be able to get 13 yards on the ground, and to protect himself as well as help his teammate, Jay Cutler will be able to get Forte eight catches.

Two big milestones are within reach for Forte, and he might even get into the end zone in the process. An all-around good day for a man who was snubbed from the Pro Bowl roster. 

Enough with the game, right? Bears fans really care about the day after at this point. Black Monday is the day after the Week 17 games where coaches and general managers on the hot seat typically learn their fate. 

SI.com's Don Banks is looking at the Bears' situation and has some interesting thoughts about Marc Trestman and general manager Phil Emery:

The Bears have been a disaster on the field and a soap opera off it this season, and that’s a combination that can rarely be survived. It’s almost hard to keep track of who has thrown whom under the bus at this point. But while it looks likely that head coach Marc Trestman won’t see a third season in the Windy City, few sources believe his firing is a 100 percent eventuality. At least not yet. Bears GM Phil Emery is believed to be in big trouble himself, with Trestman’s hiring and that Jay Cutler mega-extension on his record, but he is said to still retain the confidence of Bears president Ted Phillips. If the usually patient Bears grant Emery another season, it’s not out of the question he might be loyal enough to impart the same last-chance leniency to his head coach.

The problem is, Bears fans are in an uproar and want sweeping change. If you let Emery stay and fire Trestman, you’re letting the GM who made the mistake on the coach hire the next coach. That’s not going to be easy to sell to the natives. It’s a combustible environment in Chicago, and the idea of keeping things completely status quo and expecting different results in 2015 seems ludicrous.

Trestman and his staff should go, but Emery is more a gray area. Yes, he made questionable hires, signings and draft picks, but he's also brought Chicago Brandon Marshall, Alshon Jeffery, Kyle Long, Kyle Fuller and Willie Young. 

The real drama will center around Emery. Do you think he stays or goes?