As the Bears prepare to tangle with the Vikings on Sunday night at Soldier Field with first place in the NFC North at stake, here’s the inside slant on three notable storylines.

Trubisky triple play

When Dave and Jeanne Trubisky settle into their seats Sunday, it won’t be just to watch their son Mitch quarterback the Bears in a national showcase. It’s bigger than that, if you can believe it.

Bears-Vikings is the final game in a triple main event for the three Trubisky brothers this weekend. Dave and Jeanne will be at all three.

Before Mitch plays in the biggest game of his nascent NFL career, his brothers, Mason and Manning, will play postseason games for their high school and college teams.

“We always talk about trying to go for the triple play for the Trubiskys,” Mitch said Wednesday. “If Mentor wins, if John Carroll wins and the Bears win, that’s a good weekend. And the last two weekends, it has gone that way.”

Those recent victories have made for sky-high stakes for the three teams this weekend. For a tight-knit family like the Trubiskys, it doesn’t get any better than this.

“If everybody wins, then everybody is in a good mood,” Mitch said. “Win or lose, we always support each other and always are checking in. It’s a great family thing.”

Mason is a senior receiver for top-seeded Mentor High School, which plays in the Region 1 championship game Friday night against seventh-seeded St. Edward. It’s effectively a state quarterfinal in Ohio’s largest classification.

Mentor beat St. Edward 21-13 in last year’s region semifinal before losing in the state championship game. The Cardinals also won the rematch 42-39 in the opening game this season. Mentor’s offensive tackles are committed to Ohio State and Michigan State, and the Cardinals also have an Ohio State commitment on the defensive line.

Mason, who’s listed at 6-foot-5 and 185 pounds, has 24 catches for 258 yards and a touchdown in 10 games.

Mitch will have his phone handy Friday night for the constant stream of text-message updates from his dad about his alma mater.

Saturday morning, Dave and Jeanne will drive a half-hour southwest into Cleveland, where John Carroll University opens the NCAA Division III tournament at noon against Randolph-Macon College (Va.). Manning, a freshman, is a reserve receiver who has played in four games this season.

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“It’s huge for them,” Mitch said. “Just win and advance and stay in.”

After the Blue Streaks game, Dave and Jeanne will head for Chicago, a trip they make for every Bears home game.

Mitch doubted his brothers could come along because the game was flexed to 7:20 p.m. Central, and Mason and Manning have classes Monday morning.

It’s nice being the big brother with the real job.

Updated resumes

A crucial component to NFL success is a team’s ability to develop quality players with resources other than high draft picks and big free-agent contracts. Keep that in mind Sunday when the Vikings have the ball.

One of this game’s most intriguing matchups is in the slot, where Pro Bowl receiver Adam Thielen will go against Bears cornerback Bryce Callahan. Both are playing at a high level, making big contributions to their teams’ success.

And both were undrafted.

Yes, that was a long time ago. They have built strong resumes since, especially Thielen, who is third in the NFL this season with 947 yards.

Thielen signed with the Vikings in 2013 out of Division II Minnesota State after he impressed them at a regional combine.

“He’s a savvy route runner,” Callahan said. “He knows how to set up his stems and work off your leverage. He knows how to get separation and get open.”

The story of Callahan’s rise is well-known, at least to Bears fans. He was undrafted out of Rice in 2015, the first year of the Ryan Pace-John Fox regime.

Callahan’s quick-twitch ability and toughness as a tackler have been evident since he first stepped on the field with the Bears. His problem has been staying healthy, but so far this season the knee and hamstring issues that have slowed him in the past haven’t affected him.

His tumbling interception against the Lions on Sunday was his latest step toward a new contract. Callahan is scheduled to be an unrestricted free agent after this season, so Sunday night will be a showcase for the rest of the league, especially with him matched up against a budding star in Thielen.

“He’s a great player,” Thielen said Thursday. “I’ve had a lot of respect for him in the past couple of years going against him. He’s a quick guy. He’s going to be all over you pretty much every time. He’s a smart football player. You can tell he understands route concepts and what teams are trying to do against him.”

Sustaining success

As Pace examined coaching candidates late last year and in January, he was drawn to those with offensive expertise.

His Super Bowl experience with the Saints, with coach Sean Payton and quarterback Drew Brees, crystallized for him what’s possible when the play caller and quarterback have a years-long partnership that’s allowed to mature and evolve.

A week-by-week look at how Bears outside linebacker Khalil Mack fared during the 2018 season. (Note: The Bears had a bye week in Week 5.) (Chicago Tribune) (Chicago Tribune)

“There’s a value of pairing a strong head coach who has a strong offensive mind with a young quarterback,” Pace said Jan. 9 at Nagy’s introductory news conference. “We’ve seen that around the league. We can reference a lot of teams — one of them I was with — where that pairing has been successful. And it’s sustainable.”

That’s the key word: sustainable.

Bears fans, of course, remember the revolving door of offensive coordinators that quarterback Jay Cutler endured under coach Lovie Smith, whose expertise was defense. It seemed Cutler constantly was learning a new offense or never had enough time to master a scheme and flourish in it.

Now, with the Bears offense ranked 10th in the NFL in yards per play, it’s easy to see how the Nagy-Trubisky partnership could lift the Bears long term. Nagy insists it takes years — plural — to master his quarterback-intensive offense, and Trubisky will have that opportunity.

This is a fascinating contrast to the Vikings’ current setup. (Did we mention they’re the reigning NFC North champs?)