Bear Digest

Bears and Vikings TV, streaming, radio, betting trends

How to watch or listen to Monday night's Vikings at Bears game with the latest betting lines and trends.
Gene Chamberlain|
Bears receiver DJ Moore scored on a two-point conversion last season against the Vikings.
Bears receiver DJ Moore scored on a two-point conversion last season against the Vikings. | Daniel Bartel-Imagn Images

In this story:

Chicago Bears

Minnesota Vikings at Chicago Bears 

2025 Season Opener

Where: Soldier Field, Chicago

When: 7:15 p.m. Monday

TV: ABC/ESPN (Joe Buck, Troy Aikman, Lisa Salters, Laura Rutledge).

Streaming: WatchESPN.

Radio: ESPN AM-1000, FM-100.3 (Jeff Joniak, Tom Thayer, Jason McKie)

Westwood One (Kevin Harlan, Kurt Warner)

Spanish Broadcast: Latino Mix 93.5 FM (Omar Ramos, Mateo Moreno)

The DraftKings Line: Vikings by 1 1/2 (Over/under 43 1/2).

The Series: 128th regular-season game. Minnesota leads 68-57-2 and won the last two. Minnesota has won seven of the last eight. The Bears won the only playoff game between the teams after the 1994 season, 35-18 at Minnesota.  

The Coaches: Vikings coach Kevin O'Connell is 34-17 in his fourth season, plus 0-2 in postseason. He owns a 5-1 record against the Bears and a 16-9 record in road games.

Ben Johnson makes his coaching debut for the Bears after a 2-0-1 preseason. As offensive coordinator in Detroit his teams averaged 30.7 points in six games against the Vikings. The Lions won the last five games they played against the Vikings with Johnson as coordinator. Johnson's three Lions teams finished fifth twice first last year in scoring, and fourth, third and second in yardage.

The Matchup: Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy makes his NFL debut after he played one preseason game as a rookie (11 of 17, 188 yards, 2 TDs, 1 int) and suffered a season-ending torn meniscus in his right knee. At the same time Caleb Williams makes his first start in a Ben Johnson offense as his second season begins and does so behind a drastically altered offensive line with three new starters from guard to guard, including four-time All-Pro Joe Thuney at left guard. Williams, who threw only six interceptions as a rookie, faces a Vikings defense that led the NFL int interceptions (24), ranked second against the run and has added former Pro Bowl defensive tackles Javon Hargrave and Jonathan Allen up front.

Of Note: Williams last year became the first QB chosen No. 1 overall since the AFL-NFL merger to win in four of his first six starts. ... If DJ Moore makes 70 receptions he'll be the first Bears receiver to make at least 70 catches three times. ... If Thuney starts every game this year, he would have 163 gams started, which would be the most by any NFL player in their first 10 seasons. ... The Bears are 34-43 all time on Monday Night Football, including 17-16 at home. Minnesota is 33-37. ... McCarthy is from the Chicago area (Nazareth Academy, LaGrange). ... Minnesota was the only team in 2024 to record a takeaway in every game. ... The Vikings had six Pro Bowl players and three All-Pros last season. ... O'Connell was coach of the year in 2024 while Johnson was assistant coach of the year. ... Minnesota's 14 wins (14-3) in 2024 were the second most in franchise history. ... The Bears lost their last five home games in 2024.

Betting trends

  • The Vikings are 4-2 against the spread in their last six
  • It's been under the total in four of the last five Bears games against Minnesota
  • The Bears are 0-5 straight up in their last fiv at home against Minnesota
  • The Bears have lost nine of their last 10 as an underdog
  • It's been over the total in seven of the last nine Vikings game against NFC North teams

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

If you or someone you know has a gambling problem and wants help, call 1-800-GAMBLER.

More Chicago Bears News

X: BearsOnSI

Published
Gene Chamberlain
GENE CHAMBERLAIN

Gene Chamberlain has covered the Chicago Bears full time as a beat writer since 1994 and prior to this on a part-time basis for 10 years. He covered the Bears as a beat writer for Suburban Chicago Newspapers, the Daily Southtown, Copley News Service and has been a contributor for the Daily Herald, the Associated Press, Bear Report, CBS Sports.com and The Sporting News. He also has worked a prep sports writer for Tribune Newspapers and Sun-Times newspapers.