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The NFC North lead will be at stake in this Sunday Night Football matchup between the 5-3-1 Vikings and the 6-3 Bears. The Vikings come in as winners of four of their last five and playing their most consistent ball of the season.
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The vaunted defense seems to be gelling a bit after some early season struggles as they sacked the Lions 10 times in Week 9. They will have had some extra rest coming off of a bye last week. The Bears have won three in a row, but questions remain over the ability to beat a good team, as only one of their wins has been against a team at .500 or better. Chicago is a -2.5 favorite at home in this flexed-in Sunday night game.
Vikings Seeking Fourth Straight
Minnesota has won three in a row over the Bears and looks to continue that trend at Soldier Field on Sunday. Minnesota was the early season favorite to take the division and despite a rough start to the season, seem to be getting on track at the right time as they finish the year with a pretty tough stretch of games. The Vikings defense is 5th in the league in overall defense, giving up just 322 yards per game and their defensive line may be the best in the league.
They rank 2nd in the league in sacks, led by Danielle Hunter with 11.5, so they will look to be after Mitchell Trubisky all night. Offensively, Kirk Cousins has been all they have wanted and more and the Cousins to Adam Thielen connection is one of the most underrated offensive tools in the league. The key for Minnesota in this one is to get a fast start and take both the crowd and the Bears desire to run the ball out of the game.
Excitement Rising in Chicago
The Chicago fan base has not been this excited about a team in a long time, but questions still remain about how good this team is because they have not beat a playoff caliber team all year. What has been amazing for the Bears is their complete balance on both sides of the ball. There has not been one area where they have been subpar. For example, the Bears are in the top-5 of the league in points per game, points allowed, sacks, and interceptions.
The key for the Bears is how they will react when faced with adversity. Trubisky is going to get sacked, Minnesota is going to score points, and Adam Thielen is going to get loose. In the past few weeks, the Bears have simply had superior talent to overcome lapses, but Minnesota is a different animal. If things start to go wrong, Minnesota will not relent and allow the Bears a chance to breathe.
Pick and Prediction
Minnesota has been here before. They have faced tough road games with playoff implications. They have been to the NFC Championship game. The Bears are new to this. It has been a while since such a meaningful game was played at Soldier Field. Mitchell Trubisky is young and because of that, rarely has he seen a defensive line like the Vikings will bring on Sunday. Because of that, I think you will see sacks and a few bad decisions from the young signal caller. Vikings cover and win outright, 27-17.
