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| Chicago Bears | Minnesota Vikings |
The Chicago Bears have lost two of their last three games and are still without Jay Cutler.
Chicago may be tied with the Detroit Lions for first place in the NFC North, but they don't own the head-to-head tie-breaker, and they don't look too good in the wild-card race.
This week da Bears hit the divisional road when they visit the Minnesota Vikings Sunday afternoon (1 pm ET, Fox).
Chicago just gave up 258 rushing yards in losing at St. Louis 42-21. The Bears are now 2-8-1 ATS on the season.
Minnesota, meanwhile, didn't lose last weekend, but they didn't win, either; the Vikes coughed up a 16-point, fourth-quarter lead and ended up with a 26-26 tie at Green Bay. They did, however, cover the spread for the third time in the last four weeks.
As for this week the Bears, who have won seven of the last eight meetings with Minnesota, were favored by one point over the Vikings at Sportsbook. The Bears are just 1-6 ATS past seven divisional games.
There are a few solid OVER trends here for over-under bettors. The OVER is 10-2 in the past 12 Bears road games and the OVER is 7-1 past eight Vikings home games.
They battle the Bears, currently with a 6-5 mark (2-8-1 ATS). The over under records, important for totals bettors, are 9-2 for the Vikings and 8-3 for the Bears.
View Chicago Bears vs Minnesota Vikings Odds and Stats.
Sportsbooks, including Sportsbook, had set the Vikings as 1.5-point underdogs on the Sportsbook line for this contest. The total was hovering around 48 earlier in the week (check for the current over-under lines at Sportsbook).
This game matches up the No. 30 (Vikings) and the No. 14 (Bears) teams in the league, according to our current NFL Power Rankings at OddsShark. A 25-19 result in favor of the Bears is predicted by handicapping models.
In their last action, Chicago was a 42-21 loser on the road against the Rams. They failed to cover the 2.5-point spread as underdogs, while the combined score (63) was profitable news for OVER bettors. Josh McCown led the way last time out for the Bears, connecting for 352 passing yards, but failing to earn the victory in a 42-21 loss to the Bears at Edward Jones Dome.
How They Match Up:
The game also pits Minnesota's No. 15-ranked offense, averaging 24.18 PPG, against a Bears defense that ranks No. 29 this week at 28.09 PPG. The Vikings aerial game is averaging 207 yards per game, less than the Bears secondary allows through the air, 230.82 YPG per game.
In comparing defenses, the Bears own the league's No. 32-rated front 7 in terms of stopping the run, allowing 181 yards per game when on the road. Minnesota, on the other hand, rates No. 19 this week in generating rushing yards at home.
A few Bears at Vikings trends to consider:
Chicago is 1-7 ATS in its last 8 games
The total has gone OVER in 10 of Chicago's last 13 games
Chicago is 2-4 ATS in its last 6 games on the road
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Chicago's last 7 games on the road
Minnesota is 2-4-1 ATS in its last 7 games
Minnesota is 1-5-1 SU in its last 7 games
The total has gone OVER in 9 of Minnesota's last 11 games
Minnesota is 9-4 SU in its last 13 games at home
Next up:
Chicago home to Dallas, Monday, December 9th
Minnesota at Baltimore, Sunday, December 8th
