The Chicago Bears head to the U.S. Bank Stadium to take on the Minnesota Vikings in Week 17 of the 2019 NFL season.
The Bears have not enjoyed the same success they had last season when they went 12-4 and won the NFC North Division. Chicago started the season well but are just 4-7 SU in their last 11 games played and are out of playoff contention. Meanwhile, the Vikings are moving on the playoffs, even after losing to the Green Bay Packers the last time out. Minnesota will be on the road in round one of the playoffs against the NFC’s third seed. The Bears defeated the Vikings in their first meeting of the season in Chicago.
The Chicago Bears will not go to the playoffs a year after winning the NFC North Division. The Bears have sputtered with a 4-7 SU record in their last 11 games played and they are 7-8 SU on the season and just in third place in the Divisional Standings.
Mitchell Trubisky has passed for a total of 2,931 yards with 17 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. David Montgomery has rushed for a total of 776 yards with 5 rushing touchdowns on 219 carries while Allen Robinson II has caught 89 passes for 1,076 receiving yards with seven touchdown grabs.
The Bears rank 26th in passing at 207.5 passing yards per game and they are 29th in rushing at 86.7 rushing yards per contest. Chicago is the third-worst scoring team in the NFL at 17.3 points per game and their defense is allowing their opponents to score an average of 18.6 points per game.
With their loss to the Green Bay Packers last weekend, the Minnesota Vikings are officially the 6th seed in the NFC Conference and they will be on the road during Wild Card Weekend to take on the team which finishes as the 3rd seed in the NFC in round one of the NFL playoffs.
Kirk Cousins has thrown for a total of 3,603 passing yards with 26 scores and only six picks. Dalvin Cook has amassed 1,135 rushing yards on 250 carries with 13 rushing touchdowns. Stefon Diggs has caught a total of 1,130 yards with six touchdown catches while Adam Thielen and Kyle Rudolph also have six touchdown grabs each.
The Vikings rank 20th in passing at 226.5 passing yards per game. They are 7th on the ground with an average of 130.6 rushing yards per game. Minnesota is the 7th highest-scoring team in the league at 25.9 points per game and they are allowing their opponents to put up just 18.8 points per contest.
Chicago is 3-2 SU in their last five games played. The Bears are 3-4 SU in seven road games played this season. Minnesota is 8-3 SU in their last 11 games played. The Vikings are 6-1 SU in their last seven games played at home. Head to head, the Vikings are 6-4 SU in their last 10 games played against the Bears. Minnesota is also 6-1 SU in their last seven home games against Chicago.
There was no encore of the Bears’ successful 2018 season. Chicago went 12-4 SU and ATS last season to win the NFC North. They opened the season at 3-1 SU but have gone 4–7 SU since. Despite that, the Bears have a chance to finish this disappointing season on a high note.
With their loss to the Packers last week, the Minnesota Vikings will head to the postseason as the 6th seed in the NFC with their 10-5 record. The Vikings will face the team which finishes third in the conference and will do so on the road. That said, it is expected that the Vikings will rest key players in this game in preparation for the playoff run.
It may not be nice for the Vikings to head to the postseason with back to back losses but they also have nothing to play for in this game. The Bears have nothing to gain here too, except finish their season strong after a disappointing year. Staying healthy may be more important to Minnesota here and that leaves the Bears as the sound pick in this game. Chicago beat Minnesota on the road in Week 17 last season and I think we’ll see the same result here.
Prediction: Chicago Bears
The Bears are 1-5 ATS in their last six games played. Chicago is 0-5 ATS in their last five games played on the road. The Vikings are 8-7 ATS in 15 games played this season. Minnesota is 4-3 ATs in seven home games played, 6-13 ATS in their last 19 Week 17 games, and 6-2 ATS in their last eight Sunday games. Head to head, the Bears are 7-3 ATS in their last 10 games played against the Vikings.
Chicago has played Minnesota tough in recent head to head games and the Bears won 16-6 in their first meeting of the season. The stakes for this game are different, though. The Vikings will finish as the 6th seed in their conference and take on the 3rd seeded team in round one of the playoffs. The Bears are closing out a disappointing season and would want to finish the year on a high note. Minnesota is 6-5 ATS in their last 11 games played and the Bears are 5-0 ATS in their last five games against the Vikings.
Prediction: Bears +1
The total has gone under in seven out of the last nine games played by Chicago. The Bears have seen the total go under in four out of their seven road games played this season. The under is also 12-4 in their last 16 games against the NFC Conference, and 7-1 in their last eight games played against the NFC North Division. The total has gone over in five out of the last seven games played by the Vikings. Minnesota has seen the total go under in 11 out of their last 15 games played against the NFC Conference, and under in seven out of their last eight games played against the NFC North Division. Head to head, the total has gone under in seven out of the last 10 games played between the Bears and Vikings.
These teams have combined to score an average of 36.9 points per game in their last 10 head to head meetings and 33.67 points per game in their most recent three head to head encounters. I expect Minnesota to rest some of its key starters and because the Bears are third from the bottom when it comes to scoring, I think this will be a low-scoring game.
Prediction: Under 37
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