The Minnesota Vikings and Chicago Bears meet Monday in NFL action at Soldier Field. Here’s a Bears vs Vikings Prediction. This article will include a Bears vs Vikings Pick.
Minnesota Vikings Betting Preview
The Minnesota Vikings won 14 games last season and hope to make the playoffs back-to-back years for the first time since 2009. Coach Kevin O’Connell enters his fourth year and has a 66.7 percent winning percentage.
Offensively, the Vikings will find out quickly about J.J. McCarthy, as they move on from Sam Darnold. He’s in a good position with arguably the best receiving duo in Jordan Addison and Justin Jefferson. Tight end T.J. Hockenson is highly productive when healthy, and the offensive line should improve with the additions of Ryan Kelly and Will Fries. The offense comes down to how quickly a 22-year-old McCarthy can hit the ground running.
Defensively, the Vikings are an aggressive unit under Brian Flores that blitzes and creates turnovers. Jonathan Greenard and Andrew Van Ginkel lead the charge up front, and additions of Jonathan Allen and Javon Hargrave make it even better. The secondary has questions with players leaving, but the Vikings’ defense will remain aggressive and make game changing plays due to who is calling the shots.
Chicago Bears Betting Preview
The Chicago Bears won 5 games last year and now begin the Ben Johnson era. The Bears haven’t made the playoffs since the 2020 season.
The Bears did what they can to help young quarterback Caleb Williams, as they brought in veteran offensive linemen and drafted receiver Luther Burden III and tight end Colston Loveland. Running back D’Andre Swift and receiver DJ Moore remain productive players Williams can lean on, but nothing matters if the offensive line doesn’t improve. Guys like Joe Thuney, Jonah Jackson, and Drew Dalman have to beef up this unit or questions will remain.
Defensively, the Bears have a lot of trusted players such as Montez Sweat, Jaylon Johnson, T.J. Edwards, and Tremaine Edmunds. Adding Grady Jarrett and Dayo Odeyingbo up front make the defense that much stronger. While the Bears didn’t have great defensive numbers last season, there’s talent here and this unit plays with a physicality Chicago can be proud of. This should be a good defense under new coordinator Dennis Allen.
Why the Chicago Bears will win
- The Bears have won seven of their last eight home games in September.
- The Vikings have lost five of their last six road openers.
- The Vikings have failed to cover the spread in seven of their last eight road openers.
- The home team has covered the spread in five of the Vikings’ last six games.
- The Vikings have lost the first half in nine of their last 10 road openers.
- The Vikings have lost the first quarter in three of their last four September games as favorites.
Why the Minnesota Vikings will win
- The Bears have lost each of their last six games before a Division game.
- The favorites have won each of the last eight games between the Vikings and Bears at Soldier Field.
- The favorites have covered the spread in six of the last seven games between the Vikings and Bears at Soldier Field.
- The Bears have failed to cover the spread in six of their last seven September home games against NFC North opponents.
- The Vikings have scored the first touchdown in each of their last eight Week 1 games.
- The Bears have lost the first quarter in 10 of their last 12 games.
- The Bears have lost the first half in each of their last 10 September games as underdogs.
Chicago Bears Player Prop Facts
- D’Andre Swift has scored a touchdown in each of his six previous September home appearances against NFC opponents.
- Caleb Williams has recorded 33+ rushing yards in each of the Bears’ last five home games against NFC opponents.
- Caleb Williams has recorded 23+ completions in each of the Bears’ last three home games against NFC North opponents.
- D.J. Moore has recorded 62+ receiving yards in nine of the Bears’ last 10 games against NFC North opponents.
- Caleb Williams has recorded 231+ passing yards in four of the Bears’ last five home games against NFC opponents.
- D.J. Moore has recorded 64+ rushing and receiving yards in each of the Bears’ last 10 games against NFC North opponents.
- Caleb Williams had the most rushing attempts without a rushing touchdown last season (81).
Minnesota Vikings Player Prop Facts
- Aaron Jones has scored two or more touchdowns in each of his last three September appearances with his team as a favorite against NFC North opponents.
- Aaron Jones has scored at least one touchdown in eight of his last nine September appearances with his team as a favorite.
- Aaron Jones has recorded 58+ rushing yards in seven of his last eight regular season appearances with his team as a road favorite.
- T.J. Hockenson has recorded 50+ receiving yards in seven of his last eight appearances against NFC North opponents.
- Aaron Jones has recorded 93+ rushing and receiving yards in eight of his last nine regular season road appearances against NFC opponents.
- Jordan Addison recorded the equal-most receiving touchdowns in a single game last season (3 vs Falcons, Week 14).
Bears vs Vikings Prediction
This is a tough game to cap because McCarthy is being thrown into the fire for his first real game, on the road, Monday night, and against a strong Bears defense. However, despite improvements, the Bears offensive line was terrible last year, and it’s going up against an aggressive Vikings defense.
The Vikings blitz a lot and if that Bears offensive line needs time to figure things out, this could be a crime scene. I have more confidence in the Vikings overall, and that defense is going to test the Bears greatly out of the gate. We’re not being asked to lay much. Give me the Vikings.