The NFL regular season wraps up this weekend, and there are a number of terrific rivalry games on the schedule. The Minnesota Vikings will host the Chicago Bears in their regular-season finale, and the season will come to a close for Chicago after this game. Minnesota is a playoff team this season, and it is also looking to get some revenge against the Bears in this game.
The Bears come into this game with a record of 7-8, and this has not been a great season for the Monsters of the Midway. Chicago has lost two straight games, and it appears that it has given up on the season.
Minnesota comes into this game with a record of 10-5, and it will finish in second place in the NFC North. The Vikings will open up the playoffs on the road, but they have had a solid second half of the regular season. FanDuel has the Minnesota Vikings as one-point favorites over the Chicago Bears in this Week 17 showdown.
Offense Still Missing For Chicago
The Bears will need to make some drastic changes to their offense before the 2020 season begins if they want to make a return to the playoffs. The Bears are averaging just 17.3 points per game, and running the football has been the biggest issue.
Rookie David Montgomery leads the team with 776 yards this season, but the Bears are averaging just 86.7 yards per game. Chicago will need to run the ball in this game to give quarterback Mitchell Trubisky a chance.
Chicago is still allowing less than 19 points per game in 2019, but its defense is really beat up. The Bears will be playing without several starters, but linebacker Khalil Mack can still make some game-changing plays.
Mack leads the team with 8.5 sacks this season, but he hasn’t gotten a ton of help. Stopping the run will be priority No. 1 for the Bears in this game.
Vikings Defense Could Be Dominant
The Vikings can play some terrific defense of their own, and they will be coming after Trubisky all game long. Defensive end Danielle Hunter leads the team with 14.5 sacks, while safety Anthony Harris has six interceptions. The Vikings are giving up 18.8 points per game, but their defense has been much better at home this season.
Minnesota is one of the best rushing teams in the NFL this season, averaging 131 rushing yards per game. Running back Dalvin Cook has over 1,100 yards this season to lead the team, but he has been battling through some injuries of late and will miss this game.
Quarterback Kirk Cousins has had a great bounce-back year, and the Vikings are averaging 25.9 points per game. Cousins isn’t expected to play in this one, but the Vikings should find the end zone a few times in this game and pull away from the Bears.
Minnesota Blows Out NFC North Rival
This has been a very disappointing season for the Bears, and they come into this game with a ton of injury concerns. The Bears have been a mess on offense all season long, and that won’t be good against a terrific Minnesota defense.
The Vikings don’t really need this game for anything other than to try and build momentum heading into the playoffs. Minnesota is much better on both sides of the ball, and it should cruise to an easy win in this game.
Head to FanDuel and bet on the Minnesota Vikings -1.0 to beat the Chicago Bears on Sunday in the regular-season finale.
