NFL Week 15 Picks: Chicago Bears vs. Minnesota Vikings Predictions
Chicago Bears vs. Minnesota Vikings Predictions
- Minnesota’s defense ranks 12th in the NFL in defensive DVOA (via Football Outsiders)
This game is a 3.5-point spread most places, but you can get it at 3 for a shorter price at some books and that’s what I’m going to be doing here. At 3.5, I worry about the hook coming into play, but at three I think the worst we’ll do is push.
I don’t really need much analysis here to make a pick. As I’ve stated before, I will never put my hard-earned cash on Mitch Trubisky. It’s just not a solid investment strategy. I will give him credit, he made me second guess myself last week by dismantling the Texans, but it wasn’t enough to turn me into a believer.
Both these teams come in desperately needing a win to stay alive in the playoff race. Minnesota looked flat last week against a good Bucs team, but they also cover that game if Dan Bailey doesn’t go a miraculous 0-for-3 on field goal attempts.
Minnesota’s defense has been quietly solid this season. They are 12th in defensive DVOA coming into this week, and while they haven’t been as good as Chicago’s defense, the Minnesota offense has been far better than their Bears counterpart.
With the playoffs up for grabs here and an experienced QB and head coach on one end against a borderline starting QB and a coach that is fighting for his life every year, I’m going to ride with Kirk Cousins and Mike Zimmer.
The weapons around Cousins, between Dalvin Cook, Justin Jefferson and Adam Thielen, are far superior to anything Chicago brings to the table. I’m comfortable laying the points with the team boasting a far better offense and an underrated defensive unit.
NFL Expert Picks
Vikings -3 @ -113
NFL Free Picks
What a Week 15 we have in store. It's not a blockbuster week for the traditional primetime slots. Sunday Night Football is Browns at Giants and Monday Night Football sees the Steelers travelling into Cincy to face the Bengals. While those games may not be fantastic the fact we have two Saturday games. First up is Bills at Bengals, followed by Panthers at Packers. Outside of those games we have some interesting clashes elsewhere. The Seahawks enter Washington as favorites but it'll be a tough ask against a defense who are really coming into form. The Eagles are giving Jalen Hurts another chance to perform against the Cardinals in a battle between two former Sooners quarterbacks. We also have the Chiefs against the Saints. It's going to be a fun week of football.
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