Mitch Trubisky and the blossoming Chicago Bears will look to pick up a statement-making win over Kirk Cousins and the ‘desperate’ Minnesota Vikings when the two rivals square off in one of their two annual NFC North divisional showdowns. Will Chicago’s second-year signal-caller lead the NFC North leaders to victory or will the Vikings get the big road win to improve their chances of winning the division and getting a high seed in the playoffs?
Let’s find out what’s going to go down in this contest right now.
Vikings vs Bears NFL Week 11 Lines & Game Preview
The #Vikings remain a top-10 team heading into Sunday’s NFC North showdown against Chicago.
📰: https://t.co/Nq5wnTFuAc pic.twitter.com/0LQZEh5PDj — Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) November 13, 2018
- When: Sunday, November 18 2018 at 8:20 PM ET
- Where: Soldier Field, Chicago, IL
- TV: NBC
- Radio: Minnesota / Chicago
- Live Stream: NFL Live
- NFL Week 11 Odds: Chicago -3 / Total: 45
Weather Forecast
- Clear: -4°C/25°F
- Humidity: 69%
- Precipitation: 3%
- Wind: 8 mph W
- Cloud Cover: 16%
- Type of Stadium: Open
Why Bet On the Minnesota Vikings?
Why should you bet on the Vikings in this huge Week 11 divisional showdown? There are a bunch of good reasons. First, Minnesota is playing well coming into this contest having won four of their last five games including their convincing 24-9 smackdown of Detroit in Week 9. The Vikings recorded a franchise-record 10 sacks of Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford to lead the way to victory on a day when quarterback Kirk Cousins was held to a modest 164 passing yards with one touchdown and one interception. Defensive end Danielle Hunter recorded an impressive 3.5 sacks in the dominating performance.
“We knew he liked to throw the ball down the field, so that’s something that really helped us a lot because he held on to the ball,” said Hunter, who leads the NFL with 11.5 sacks for the season. “So as long as we executed the rush plan, we knew we’d be able to get back there.”
Another great reason to back Minnesota is because they’ve pretty much owned Chicago in recent meetings, going 3-0 SU over the last four meetings, 4-1 SU over the last five and 7-3 SU over the last 10 meetings overall. Last but not least, after leading the league in defense, almost across the board last season, the Vikings are starting to play ‘D’ at a high level once again, having limited three of their last four opponents to 17 points or less.
Team Statistics
Offense:- Average Score For: 24.56
- Total Yards: 374.34
- Pass Yards: 282.67
- Rush Yards: 91.67
- Average Score Against: 22.67
- Total Yards: 322.33
- Pass Yards: 233.33
- Rush Yards: 89
Why Bet On The Chicago Bears?
Why should you consider backing Chicago is this intriguing Week 11 battle? Well, there are several good reasons. First, Chicago now has the better offense as they average 29.8 points per game to Minnesota’s 24.5 points per contest. Next, the Bears are also the better statistical team defensively as well, limiting the opposition to 19.4 points per game while Minnesota allows 22.6 points per contest.
Another good reason is that Chicago has some momentum going as they ride the wave of a three-game winning streak into this contest that includes a fantastic 34-22 smackdown of Detroit on Sunday as blossoming second-year quarterback Mitch Trubisky passed for 355 yards with three touchdowns and no picks. Chicago’s defense picked off Matt Stafford twice in the win and recorded six sacks on the veteran signal-caller.
“We knew he liked to throw the ball down the field, so that’s something that really helped us a lot because he held on to the ball,” said Hunter, who moved into the NFL lead with 11 1/2 sacks for the season. “So as long as we executed the rush plan, we knew we’d be able to get back there.”
Last but not least, the best reason for backing the Bears is that they generally hold it down at home against Minnesota, having gone 14-3 SU in their last 17 home dates against the Vikes.
Team Statistics
Offense:- Average Score For: 29.89
- Total Yards: 363.44
- Pass Yards: 243.33
- Rush Yards: 120.11
- Average Score Against: 19.44
- Total Yards: 319.56
- Pass Yards: 235.67
- Rush Yards: 83.89
Vikings vs Bears NFL Week 11 Betting Trends
- Minnesota is 4-6-2 ATS in the last 12 games
- Minnesota is 4-1 SU in the last 5 games
- The total went OVER in 4 of Minnesota’s last 5 games on the road
- Chicago is 8-3 ATS in the last 11 games
- Chicago is 6-2 SU in the last 8 games
- The total went OVER in 5 of Chicago’s last 6 games
Expert Analysis and Prediction for Vikings vs Bears
While the Bears have been impressive in winning three straight, Chicago’s victories came against the awful New York Jets and Buffalo Bills and a Detroit Lions team that has floundered under first-year head coach Matt Patricia. For me, I just don’t have a whole lot of belief right now that Chicago is going to be able to dispatch a veteran Minnesota team that has been playing well coming into this contest and one that will be extremely focused.
Despite the fact that Chicago is statistically better on both sides of the ball, I’m going to advise you to back the Vikings to get the outright win to cover the chalk as a field goal road underdog while narrowing the gap in their race for first place in the NFC North.
I know Chicago is 8-3 ATS in their last 11 games when playing at home against Minnesota and 5-1 ATS in their last six home games overall, but the Vikings have gone 8-3-1 SU in their last 12 road games, a perfect 4-0 ATS in their last four games in the month of November and a seriously consistent 36-16-1 ATS in their last 53 games following a ATS win. I’m going with Minnesota for the upset and you should too.
NFL Week 11 Pick: Vikings 24 Bears 20
