Bears and Vikings TV, Radio, Streaming, Betting
Chicago Bears (3-8) at Minnesota Vikings (6-5)
Kickoff: 7:15 p.m. Monday
Where: U.S. Bank Stadium, Minneapolis, Minn.
TV: ESPN (Joe Buck, Troy Aikman, Lisa Salters)
Radio: ESPN AM-1000, 100.3 FM (Jeff Joniak, Tom Thayer, Jason McKie)
Westwood One (Kevin Harlan, Kurt Warner)
Spanish Radio: Latino Mix 93.5 (Omar Ramos, Miguel Esparza)
Digital Radio: SiriusXM (XM Channel 81, Channel 88)
Streaming: fuboTV (free trial)
The Line: Vikings by 3 1/2 (over/under 43 1/2)
The Matchup: The Bears come in off a heart-breaking blown game, losing a 26-14 lead for a 31-26 with 17 Detroit points coming in the final four minutes of a game Chicago dominated. The Vikings had a five-game winning streak starting back with the first game against the Bears but lost to the Denver Broncos 21-20 with Josh Dobbs at quarterback. Minnesota could have wide receiver Justin Jefferson back after he had been on injured reserve with a hamstring injury since first Bears game Oct . 15. He has been termed questionable for the game by coach Kevin O'Connell. QB Kirk Cousins is out for the season and Dobbs is the starter. The Vikings won the first game against the Bears this season 19-13, as Justin Fields suffered a dislocated thumb in the third quarter and left in favor of Tyson Bagent, who gave up the deciding points on a strip-sack for a touchdown return by Jordan Hicks.
The Series: The 126th overall meeting. The Vikings lead the series 66-57-2, a total that includes one Bears playoff win after the 1994 season. Minnesota has won the last five in the series, longest winning streak in the series since 2018-19 when the Bears won four straight. The five straight wins is the most by anyone in the series since the Bears won six straight from 2009-12.
The Coaches: Bears coach Matt Eberflus is 6-22 in his second season and 0-3 against the Vikings. His Bears teams have lost all nine NFC North games they've played.
Vikings coach Kevin O'Connell is 19-9 in his second season, including 3-0 against the Bears.
Last Week: The Bears became the first team in recorded NFL history to own a 4-1 turnover advantage and hold the ball for 40 minutes but lose. They had a 26-14 lead with 4:15 left but in 3:53 the Lions had scored 17 points, two on TD drives and the other on a strip-sack out of the end zone for a safety. Minnesota led 17-9 in the fourth quarter but Russell Wilson rallied the Broncos and threw a 15-yard TD pass to Courtland Sutton with 1:03 left for the winning points in a 21-20 Broncos victory.
Notable: Bears kicker Cairo Santos has made 56 consecutive field goals inside of 40 yards, the second-longest streak at this distance in the NFL behind only Nick Folk (65). ... Santos is 19 of 20 on the year and one of five kickers in the league to make all five field goal tries of 50-plus yards this season. ... Since Week 6, the Bears rank second on defense in the NFL at 283.7 yards a game. ... The Bears defense is second in the league and has allowed two rushing TDs since Week 3, tied for fewest in that span. ... DJ Moore needs 111 receiving yards for a 1,000-yard season. ... The Bears have 48 rushing plays of 10 yards or more, which ranks first in the NFL. ... The Vikings are wearing their 1960s-70s throwback uniforms in this game. The other time they wore those were in the opener and they lost to Tampa Bay 20-17. ... The Vikings have lost the turnover battle 12-2 in their five defeats. They lost the turnover battle in every loss. ... Before the Vikings traded for Dobbs, he had started eight games this year for the Cardinals and Arizona had lost seven of them. ... The Bears have lost 12 straight NFC North games. ... Dobbs has played in only three Vikings games and leads the team with three rushing TDs. The Vikings have five rushing TDs. ... With Jefferson injured, T.J. Hockenson has the Vikings lead in yards with 736 and in catches with 75. he has been targeted a team-high 102 times. ... Vikings WR Jordan Addison leads all NFL rookies in touchdowns scored with seven.
Betting Trends
- The Vikings have covered the spread in their last six games.
- The Vikings are 8-3 ATS on the year. Only one win came as a favorite of more than three points.
- It's been over the total in seven of the 11 Bears games
- It's been under the total in eight Vikings games this season.
- The Bears are 3-2 ATS as underdogs of 3.5 points or more.
Twitter: BearDigest@BearsOnMaven
