Vikings vs Bears Monday Night Football Odds, Lines, and Spread

• The Minnesota Vikings face the Chicago Bears on Monday Night Football (Nov. 16, 8:20 PM EST)
• MNF Picks Record: 1-2 ATS; 2-4 O/U; -3.6 Units
• Read below for analysis and a betting prediction for this game

The Minnesota Vikings will visit the Chicago Bears for an NFC North showdown on Monday Night Football. The Bears started the season 5-1 but enter this contest on a three-game losing streak with all sorts of questions about their offense. Taking a look at the side and total for this contest, what’s the best bet?

Vikings vs Bears Odds

All odds as of November 15th at FanDuel.

Bears Offense Has Been Stuck In The Mud

The Bears started the season with five wins in their first six games. While their offense wasn’t explosive in those early contests, it was effective, averaging 23.4 points per game. During their three-game losing streak, they haven’t topped 23 points while averaging about a touchdown less at 16.7 per outing.

My man got tossed, then again most of us would it is Khalil Mack pic.twitter.com/G2CuGrQtOQ

— IceBear 🍁(8-0) (@icebearwonton) November 15, 2020

Over their last three games, the Bears rank 29th in points per game, 28th in rushing yards per game and 23rd in total offense. The biggest failure of the offense has been the line, which is allowing opposing teams to get into the Bears backfield with ease. Over the last three games, the Bears have given up 12 sacks and 21.5 tackles for a loss.

It won’t help matters that the Bears will be without running back David Montgomery (concussion) for this game, but for Chicago to get back on track they have to find a way to play better up front. If that doesn’t change, their downward trajectory isn’t likely to either.

Vikings Have Some Momentum

The Vikings started the season 1-5 but have since won back-to-back contests. Considering they made the playoffs last season and won a game, they’re way off of course for where they thought they’d be. However, considering the playoff invites have expanded this year, there is still some time to turn things around.

🚨 DALVIN COOK IS LOOSE! 🚨

(via @Vikings)pic.twitter.com/kqBdi7li3x

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) November 8, 2020

Minnesota has been riding running back Dalvin Cook over the last two weeks as he’s been over 220 total yards each time. He’s helped take a lot of pressure off of their beleaguered defense, which had been allowing 32.0 points per game. They’ve managed to cut that down to just 21.0 during this brief two-game winning streak.

The question with Minnesota is can they keep this up? This was a very different team through their first six games of the season, so it’s unclear if they’ve found some solutions or whether it’s just a brief deviation from the norm.

What’s The Best Bet?

Minnesota is favored here but you have to be a bit cautious in this spot. The Bears have owned the Vikings under Matt Nagy, going 4-0 since he took over, and Kirk Cousins has never won a game on Monday Night Football.

Ever wonder what Kirk Cousins record is in Monday Night Football games?….He’s 0-9 pic.twitter.com/jjbPXNG4yJ

— Fantasy Football Dudes (@fantasy_dudes) November 15, 2020

Getting into the finer details, Minnesota has had a really tough time pressuring opposing quarterbacks as their 16 sacks on the year rank 21st. Seven of those came in two games, so they’ve actually produced just nine sacks in their six other contests.

The Bears have lost three straight and are 5-4 on the season, but take a look at their losses. They’ve lost to the Los Angeles Rams, New Orleans Saints, Tennessee Titans and Indianapolis Colts and each of those teams are at least two games above .500. Their combined record is 23-11.

The Vikings are not on that level. Take the Bears as a home dog in this spot.

Prediction: Chicago Bears +3.5