Will the Vikings win this important divisional duel?
The North never forgets – and that’s why there is also a duel in the NFC North at the end of NFL Week 12: our Vikings vs. After the Lions’ collapse at the top of the division, there is a lot at stake in this duel.
Because with a win, the Vikings would move to 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 just contested
Since Justin Fields returned 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 see a pretty even matchup coming up here, although our prediction for Minnesota vs. Chicago is a Vikings win in the end, as their defense has looked a little stronger than the Bears’ defense recently.
Kick-off of this Monday Night Game is at 02:20 on Tuesday night in Minneapolis. The game can be watched live on DAZN.
Minnesota Vikings – stats & current form
The loss to Denver was the first blot on Minnesota’s Dobbs fairytale, but it doesn’t have to be the end. The Vikings would still be in a wild card spot in the first round of the playoffs.
A must-win against the Bears is now on the cards, but it could be more difficult than expected after the return of Justin Fields. Because the Vikes’ rushing defense should be really challenged against him
Rushing defense getting better and better
The good thing from their point of view: their rushing defense has steadily improved over the course of the season and most recently only allowed 46 yards against the Broncos. Their season average is 94.0 yards allowed per game – a top-7 figure.
That sounds promising and could ultimately be the decisive 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 has stopped Minnesota all season, it’s turnovers
Turnovers the Achilles heel
The Vikings have already lost 20 turnovers this season. Their 14 fumbles stand out in particular, which is an absolute NFL negative record. The second weakest team only lost the ball eleven times (Jaguars).
If they can eliminate this weakness, then there is still a lot in it for the Vikes this season. If they fail to do so, then even Chicago will be a high hurdle. So the odds on Minnesota for Vikings vs. Bears are playable, but with a certain residual risk.
Key Players:
- QB: Joshua Dobbs
- RB: Ty Chandler
- WR: Jordan Addison
- TE: T.J. Hockenson
- K: Greg Joseph
Chicago Bears – Statistics & current form
The Bears have Justin Fields back and against the Lions it was immediately obvious what a difference this personnel 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 thinking about picking a new quarterback with their high draft pick next year
Fields on the test bench
In this respect, Fields is currently even playing for his future – with the Bears or with another team that would then take him. The next few weeks may decide whether he remains a starting quarterback in the NFL or slips to the second string.
He will therefore be really motivated, which was already evident against Detroit. The problem in that game: The playcalling became more and more anxious and defensive as the game went on, allowing the Lions back into the game of their own accord.
That can’t happen against the Vikings, because they can make comebacks too. In the end, Chicago doesn’t have much left to lose anyway. That could end up having a positive effect or a negative one like against Detroit – but then they also have a huge coaching problem in Chicago
It’s all about the run
The only way to an away win in Minnesota will be through the run game. With 139.5 yards per game, they have the fourth-best rushing offense in the league and they’ll need to match that against the Vikes to have a chance.
They finished with 183 rushing yards against the Lions and even that wasn’t quite enough. We can well imagine that the game against the Vikings could be similar to the one against Detroit. Good drives that are often stopped before the end zone.
Then it depends on kicker Cairo Santos how many points they get on the scoreboard. However, there is no question that he will be called upon, which is why a bet on a Bears field goal for Minnesota vs. Chicago is almost a must bet.
Key Players:
- QB: Justin Fields
- RB: Khalil Herbert
- WR: DJ Moore
- TE: Cole Kmet
- K: Cairo Santos
Minnesota Vikings – Chicago Bears head-to-head / H2H record
Since 2021, the Vikings have clearly worn the pants in this duel – 5:0 in this time span. What stands out: The Bears always had problems reaching the end zone and kicker Cairo Santos was often very busy.
In the last four games, he made a total of eight field goals against Minnesota – that’s an average of two per game. We would be very surprised if he didn’t reach that number again on Monday.
Therefore, FG bets on Cairo Santos are definitely worth considering. On the other side, TD bets on players are much more possible, whereby our recommendation here for Minnesota against Chicago is a bet on a TD from running back Ty Chandler
Minnesota Vikings – Chicago Bears betting tip
So we’ve come up with two really strong betting options for this matchup: win bets on Minnesota and field goal bets on Cairo Santos. In the end, we opt for the bet with the greater value as No. 1.
Thus, for Vikings vs. Bears a bet on Over 1 Field Goal of the Bears is our clear betting recommendation. Followed by bets on the Vikes, where we can add a handicap of up to -3 to the slips of paper
As far as the total points are concerned, we are not making a recommendation this time, as it is absolutely impossible to predict in which direction the game will develop. Therefore, our recommendation here is: Stay away from points bets
