The annual trip to Chicago is upon us
The Minnesota Vikings will wrap up their three-game road trip against a familiar foe when they take their annual trip to the shores of Lake Michigan to take on the Chicago Bears in Week 12 NFL action.
The Vikings are riding a three-game winning streak, all of which came against teams from the AFC South. The Minnesota defense has allowed just two touchdowns in the last three games and appears to be back in the form they showed in the early stages of the season. Sam Darnold also had a bounce-back game against Tennessee in Week 11 as he accounted for three touchdowns in Minnesota’s 23-13 victory in Nashville and, was credited with only one turnover that wasn’t actually his fault when Aaron Jones fumbled a pitch in the first quarter.
The Bears are trending in the other direction, having dropped four in a row following a 4-2 start. They lost their 11th straight game to Green Bay this past Sunday by a score of 20-19 as a potential game-winning field goal was blocked with no time left on the clock and their offense has struggled to the point where they fired their offensive coordinator a couple of weeks ago. The Bears haven’t won a game on American soil since they defeated Carolina in Week 5. . .they beat Jacksonville in London in Week 6 and have not had a victory since.
While Soldier Field has often been described as a house of horrors for the Vikings, the purple are actually seeking their fifth straight win in the Windy City. The last Minnesota loss to Chicago at Soldier Field came back in 2019, when the Vikings fell to the Bears by a score of 16-6. The Vikings have won six of their last eight against the Bears overall, but one of those losses was last season’s ugly 12-10 loss on Monday Night Football late in the season.
Minnesota has opened this one as an early 3.5-point favorite over Chicago, according to the folks from FanDuel.
Kickoff for this one is scheduled for noon Central time on Sunday afternoon, and the game will be carried on the FOX family of networks.