Monday Night Football: Vikings vs. Bears Odds, Preview, Picks, and Prediction
NFL Week 15 continues in the Windy City with a marquee matchup between two NFC North rivals, the Minnesota Vikings and Chicago Bears. Follow along as Nick Galaida breaks down Vikings vs. Bears NFL odds and gives you his Monday Night Football pick and prediction.
Vikings vs. Bears Odds
| Vikings Odds | +2.5 |
| Bears Odds | -2.5 |
| Over/Under | 45 |
| Date | Monday, Dec 20. |
| Time | 8:20 p.m. ET |
| TV | ESPN |
Tonight, the Minnesota Vikings and the Chicago Bears will battle in a divisional showdown at Soldier Field. Entering play, the Vikings are a half game behind the New Orleans Saints for the last Wild Card spot in the NFC playoff picture. Chicago has suffered a disappointing campaign, winning only four of their 13 games. They will be hoping to play spoiler in this one, and to put an end to their current two-game losing streak.
As for the odds, sportsbooks are expecting a relatively easy victory for Minnesota on Monday Night Football, pricing the Vikings as a six-point favorite on the spread with an over/under of 45 points.
Vikings
Each of Minnesota’s seven losses in 2021 have come by one score. The Vikings have lost twice on a walk-off field goal and once on a walk-off touchdown. They also lost to the Arizona Cardinals when they missed a game-winning field goal as time expired. All of this is to say–Minnesota is an extremely talented football team, but has suffered a considerable amount of misfortune in tightly-contested games this fall.
Kirk Cousins has been one of the better quarterbacks in the NFL, ranking 9th in passing yards, 7th in passing touchdowns, 4th in interceptions, and 10th in QBR. The Vikings have a solid offensive line, two star wide receivers in Justin Jefferson and Adam Thielen, and one of the better running back tandems in the league, led by Dalvin Cook. Yet, this offense has, at times, failed to flourish due to over-conservative play calling by the Minnesota coaching staff. If the Vikings are more aggressive in short-yardage situations, this is an extremely difficult offense for any opponent to slow down.
On the defensive side of the ball, Minnesota has far more question marks. Patrick Peterson is a household name, but has not been elite since 2018. Cameron Dantzler and Harrison Smith are solid in coverage, but this secondary unit has still been largely ineffectual as a whole–allowing opposing signal callers to total 24 touchdowns against only 11 interceptions through 13 games. On the ground, only the Pittsburgh Steelers have allowed more yards-per-carry than the Vikings. Minnesota might be able to win this game with their offense, but they are going to need a disciplined approach on defense if they hope to cover a touchdown on the spread in this one.
Bears
Still, the Bears are not particularly well-equipped to take advantage of any defense in the NFL, no matter how weak. Per Pro Football Focus, Justin Fields has graded 31st out of 37 qualifying quarterbacks in 2021. It does not help that he is playing behind a porous offensive line, and dealing with a questionable coaching staff calling plays from the sidelines.
Though Chicago still has a reputation as a solid defense, that is based more off of reputation from years’ past than it is from actual production this season. The Bears are allowing a mediocre 4.3 yards-per-carry on the ground, and have been even worse against the pass–permitting a 106.6 passer rating, including 24 touchdowns against only 5 interceptions in 13 contests. Kirk Cousins and the Minnesota offense should feast in prime time this evening.
Monday Night Football & Prediction
Chicago has one of the most painfully limited offensive attacks in the league, but they have found a way in recent weeks to put points on the board, scoring 22 points against the Arizona Cardinals and 30 points against the Green Bay Packers. Minnesota’s defense is worse than both the Cardinals and Packers. If Chicago can manage to score 20 points this evening, Minnesota should have little trouble approaching 30 points against a Bears defense that is seemingly getting worse by the week. Take the over here.
PICK: Over 45 (-110)
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