HomeNFLNFL PredictionsChicago Bears vs Minnesota Vikings Prediction, Odds and MNF Picks

Chicago Bears vs Minnesota Vikings Prediction, Odds and MNF Picks for Monday, 12/16/24

Updated: 10:22 AM ET Dec 12, 2024

U.S. Bank StadiumABC

Bears

8:00 PM ETMon Dec 16

Vikings

LLLLL	Last 5	WWWWW
4-9	Record	11-2
7-5-1	ATS Record	8-4-1
5-8	O/U Record	5-8

Vote on who will cover the spread!

Bears vs Vikings Pickswise Expert Predictions

NFL

Point Spread Pick

MIN Vikings -7.0(+100)CHI Bears @ MIN Vikings

Reasoning

Perceptions couldn’t be higher on the Minnesota Vikings. They mostly deserve it. Minnesota is 11-2 and they’ve just won their 6th straight contest, a battle against their former quarterback that ended up in a huge scoring disparity because of a wild 4th quarter. The reality is the Falcons, who we profile as a very average program, played the Vikings evenly for 3 quarters. The Falcons outgained the Vikings (496-433), earned more first downs (25-23) and the score was tied entering the final 15 minutes. They just made too many mistakes. A crucial missed 4th-down conversion late in the first quarter followed by a terrible interception at the start of the 2nd quarter still wasn’t enough for Minnesota to create distance. Ultimately, missed assignments on defense, dropped passes and an egregious 12 penalties for 127 yards eventually broke the camel’s back, and the Vikings cruised to a big win.

Still, the 21-point victory was a bit misleading. There’s plenty to like about the Vikings, don’t get us wrong. Coach Kevin O’Connell is building special camaraderie in the locker room, Sam Darnold is confident and turned his career around this season, and their defense is aggressive and knows how to make big plays. Still, just how good are the Minnesota Vikings?

They’re better than their opponent on Monday Night Football, hence the 7-point chalk. Game 1 was close between Chicago and Minnesota, a 30-27 overtime win for the Vikings, but the Bears never looked outmatched. After last Sunday, an embarrassing 38-13 loss to the 49ers, where Chicago only gained 4 yards in the first half (compared to 309 for the home team), the only way to go is up for the lowly Bears. Although, at 4-9, we question their motivation. The organization itself is marred, a franchise that cyclically underwhelms and disappoints, despite rotating new coaches and new stars on what feels like a yearly basis. On the field, their offense put out one of their worst performances of the season (162 total yards) against an injured San Francisco defense last week, and their defense couldn’t stop the hobbled home team, either (San Francisco finished with 452, but this would have been a much larger number if they weren’t coasting in the second half). We’ll look to fade the Vikings eventually, but this isn’t the spot.

Bears vs Vikings prediction: Vikings -7 (+100) available at time of publishing. Playable at that number.

Bet like a Caesar with this awesome new customer offer from Caesars, where you can get a welcome boost worth up to $1,000 on Caesars. Become a Caesars member 👥 using the Caesars promo code PICKSWISE1000, where you can bet on our Bears vs Vikings picks.

BET -7.0 NOW WITH

Chris R. Farley

NFL

Game Totals Pick

Over 43.5(-110)CHI Bears @ MIN Vikings

Reasoning

The issue with the total is the Bears. Chicago has not been a consistently good offense, despite Caleb Williams infamously telling his punter that he won’t be punting much anymore – yikes! The Bears are in fact a bottom-5 group in a slew of categories, including yards per game (288.5, dead-last), yards per play (4.5, dead-last), 3rd-down conversion rate (33.89%, 30th), and passing yards per game (182.7, 30th). Last week seemed to be the mental end of their season. After firing their coach Matt Eberflus, they traveled to San Francisco as just a 4-point underdog against the former NFC champions, and they barely even showed up. It wasn’t until the second half that they manufactured more than 10 total yards, and that was against a conservative, banged-up 49ers’ defense that was leading 24-0. Minnesota’s defensive coordinator, Brian Flores, is as aggressive as any schemer in the league, which will likely mean devastating effects on an already downtrodden group.

The Vikings, on the other hand, have had little issue moving the ball. They put up 433 last week and 452 on the Bears in their first battle, standard for a program that averages 351.4 yards per game (11th). The true issue for Chicago’s resistance is their pass defense, a unit that was among the top in the NFL a season ago, but now they permit far too many explosive plays. Minnesota averages 8.6 yards per pass, second only behind Cincinnati this season. Chicago, meanwhile, allows 7.9 yards per pass (29th), a weakness that burned their chances over and over again in the first matchup (Darnold threw 22/34 for 322 yards on 8.6 yards per pass). Minnesota is at home and could score at will in this game, and Chicago has gotten in the habit of playing catch-up in the second half. Usually when a game has blowout potential, we avoid betting the total, but we can only lean one way in this instance.

Bears vs Vikings prediction: Over 43.5 (-110) available at time of publishing. Playable to 44.

If you’re looking for a new sportsbook, check out Bet365, the world’s #1 sportsbook. They have an amazing sign-up offer where you can INSTANTLY receive $150 in bonus bets from a $5 wager, regardless of whether that bet wins or loses! There’s no catch, it’s really that simple. Join Bet365 right now ⏰ in time to fade or follow our experts’ Bears vs Vikings predictions.

BET o43.5 NOW WITH

Chris R. Farley

Chris Farley

Show Bio

Chris is a writer for Pickswise who’s been handicapping the NFL since 2011. He began his public betting career as a betting writer, and has since become a contributing analyst for various betting sites and shows. He was a 5th place winner ($114k) in the 2021 NFL Circa Millions contest, and he owns his own sports betting podcast, Laying the Points. Chris approaches handicapping using psychosocial principles and nuanced market analysis. The NFL and NBA are his favorite and most profitable sports.

@FarleyBets

Get up to 1,570,000 Gold Coins + 45 FREE Sweeps Coins upon signup

You’ll get a 1,570,000 Gold Coins + 45 free Sweeps Coins upon signup

Start making bets with the at the Sportzino Social Sportsbook & Casino

Get up to 1,570,000 Gold Coins + 45 FREE Sweeps Coins upon signup

Coins

Get up to 1,570,000 Gold Coins + 45 FREE Sweeps Coins upon signup

You’ll get a 1,570,000 Gold Coins + 45 free Sweeps Coins upon signup

Start making bets with the at the Sportzino Social Sportsbook & Casino

Get up to 1,570,000 Gold Coins + 45 FREE Sweeps Coins upon signup