Will the Vikings win this important divisional game?
The North never forgets – and that’s why there’s also a matchup in the NFC North at the end of Week 12: our Vikings at the Chicago Bears. After the Lions‘ collapse to the top of the division in this matchup, the stakes are high.
Because with a win, the Vikings would come within one win of Detroit. With a win, the Bears would also suddenly be back in the playoff race in this NFC, where the last wild card spot is more than contested
With Justin Fields back from injury, Chicago’s offense is finally improving. Joshua Dobbs will start his third game for the Vikings and it will be interesting to see how he responds to the first setback against the Broncos.
We can see this being a pretty even matchup, although our prediction for Minnesota vs. Chicago is a Vikings win in the end, as their defense has looked a bit stronger than the Bears lately.
Kickoff for this Monday night game is at 2:20 on Tuesday night in Minneapolis. The game can be seen live on DAZN.
Minnesota Vikings – stats & current form
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Loss to Denver was the first stain on the Minnesota Dobbs tale, but it doesn’t have to be the end. The Vikings will still be a wild card spot in the first round of the playoffs.
Now they have a must-win against the Bears, but it could be tougher than expected with Justin Fields returning. Because the Vikings defense should be really challenged against him
The rushing defense is getting better
The positive from their perspective is that their rushing defense has steadily improved over the season and recently allowed just 46 yards against the Broncos. Their season average is 94.0 yards allowed per game, a top-7 metric.
That sounds promising and could ultimately be the crucial piece of the puzzle for success. If Dobbs and the offense can take better care of the ball. Because if there’s one thing that’s stopped Minnesota all season, it’s turnovers
Turnovers are the Achilles heel
The Vikings have already lost 20 times this season. Their 14 turnovers especially stand out, which is an absolute negative record in the NFL. The second-worst team has only fumbled the ball eleven times (Jaguars).
If they can eliminate that weakness, then there is still a lot for the Vikings to do this season. If they fail to do so, then even for Chicago, this will be a high hurdle. So the Minnesota odds for the Vikings against the Bears are playable, but with some residual risk.
Key Players: Key Players:
- QB: Joshua Dobbs
- RB: Ty Chandler
- WR: Jordan Addison
- TE: T.J. Hockenson
- K: Greg Joseph
Chicago Bears – stats and current form
The Bears got Justin Fields back and against the Lions it was immediately clear what a difference this lineup makes. When he’s in top form, he’s one of the most dangerous dual-threat quarterbacks in the NFL.
The only question is how consistently he can show that. Before his injury, he was so inconsistent on the road that Chicago is even considering selecting a new quarterback with their high pick in next year’s draft
Fields on the test bench
In that regard, Fields is even playing for his future right now – with the Bears or another team that would then take him. The next few weeks could decide if he remains a starting quarterback in the NFL, or if he’s relegated to the second string.
That’s why he’ll be really motivated, which was already evident against Detroit. The problem in this game: the running game became more and more unsettled and defensive as the game went on, allowing the Lions to get back into the game at will.
That couldn’t happen against the Vikings because they could also get back into the game. In the end, Chicago has nothing to lose anyway. In the end, it could have a positive or negative effect, like against Detroit – but then Chicago also has a huge coaching problem
It’s all about the run
The only way to win on the road in Minnesota will be through the run game. At 139.5 yards per game, they have the fourth best offensive attack in the league and will need to match that against the Vikings to have a chance.
They finished with 183 yards against the Lions and even that wasn’t enough. We can well imagine that the game against the Vikings could be similar to the one against Detroit. Good offenses that often get stopped before the end zone.
Then it’s up to kicker Cairo Santos to decide how many points they get on the scoreboard. There’s no doubt he’ll be called upon though, which is why a bet on a field goal by Beers for Minnesota against Chicago is almost a must.
Key Players: Key Players:
- QB: Justin Fields
- RB: Khalil Herbert
- WR: DJ Moore
- TE: Cole Kmet
- K: Cairo Santos
Minnesota Vikings – Chicago Bears in a straight game / H2H record
The Vikings are clearly wearing the pants in this matchup, going 5-0 in that time frame since 2021. What Stands Out: Beavers have always had trouble reaching the end zone, and kicker Cairo Santos has often been very busy.
In the last four games, he’s made a total of eight field goals against Minnesota – that’s an average of two per game. We’ll be very surprised if he doesn’t reach that number again on Monday.
That’s why betting on Cairo Santos‘ FG is definitely worth considering. On the other hand, bets on TDs to players are much more possible, and our recommendation here for Minnesota vs. Chicago is a bet on a TD to runner Ty Chandler
Betting Tips for Minnesota Vikings – Chicago Bears
So we’ve come up with two really strong betting options for this game: a bet on Minnesota to win and a bet on Cairo Santos to score. In the end, we choose the bet with more value as the 1.
So for Vikings vs. Beavers, the Over 1 Goal in the Beavers Goal is our clear bet recommendation. Next up are the bets for the Vikings, where we can add a handicap of up to -3 to the
slips
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As for the point total, we are not giving a recommendation this time as it is absolutely impossible to predict which way the game will go. So our recommendation here is: stay away from betting on points
