NFL Picks

Chicago Bears vs Minnesota Vikings 1/8/23 NFL Picks, Predictions, Odds

Minnesota Vikings (12-4) vs. Chicago Bears (3-13)
January 8, 2023 1:00 pm EDT
The Line: Chicago Bears +5.5 / Minnesota Vikings -5.5; Over/Under: +45.5
(Get latest betting odds)

The Chicago Bears (3-13) will host the Minnesota Vikings (12-4) in week 18 NFL action from Soldier Field on Sunday, January 8. Kick-off is at 1:00pm Eastern (12:00p Central/local time).

The Vikings will try to rebound from a 41-17 loss to Green Bay in their last game. Kirk Cousins has thrown for 4,322 yards, 28 touchdowns and 14 interceptions on 65.3% passing while Dalvin Cook leads the Vikings in rushing with 1,136 rushing yards and 8 touchdowns this season. Justin Jefferson leads the Vikings’ receiving group with 124 grabs for 1,771 yards and 8 touchdowns while Adam Thielen has 68 grabs for 708 receiving yards this season. On defense, Eric Kendricks has a team-high 134 total tackles including 87 solo tackles while Danielle Hunter has 10.5 sacks and Za’Darius Smith has 10 sacks this season.

The Bears will hope to snap their losing skid after a 41-10 loss to Detroit last time out. Justin Fields has thrown for 2,242 yards, 17 touchdowns and 11 interceptions on 60.4% passing while also rushing for 1,143 yards and 8 touchdowns. Khalil Herbert has 681 rushing yards with 4 scores while David Montgomery has 780 rushing yards and 5 scores. Darnell Mooney leads Chicago’s receiving group with 40 grabs for 493 receiving yards while Cole Kmet has a team-high 46 catches for 487 yards and 6 touchdowns this season. On defense, the Bears have combined for 20 sacks and 13 interceptions up to this point in the season.

Minnesota is 1-4 ATS in their last 5 games against a team with a losing record and 0-4 ATS in their last 4 division games while the over is 13-5 in their last 18 road games. Chicago is 1-6 ATS in their last 7 games overall and 3-7 ATS in their last 10 games against a team with a winning record while the over is 7-2 in their last 9 games following a loss.

I get the case to be made for either side here, but I’m looking at the over in this one. These two have combined to hit 21 overs in a combined 32 games up to this point in the season and while Chicago’s defense has fallen off of a cliff the last couple of months, Minnesota’s hasn’t been much better if we’re being honest and I think that this total is far too light for a game that could easily hit the 50s here. I’ll side with the over.

Chris Ruffolo's Free Pick: Over 45.5

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Chris Ruffolo

Chris joined the Sports Chat Place team in August 2016 and has a proven system that combines multiple analytical and situational statistics and trends to give out thousands of winning picks over the last three years with winning records across all of the top leagues, Follow Chris Ruffolo on Twitter @ruffthepickdawg

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