The freefall for the Minnesota Vikings is complete. They were the last team to lose a game this season, but the Vikings have had a tough time getting victories lately and it cost them a chance to return to the postseason. In fact, the Vikings have the same number of wins as the Chicago Bears over the past eight games, and the Bears were eliminated from playoff contention after the first few weeks of the season. It shows how far the Vikings have fallen. They’ll get a chance to avenge an earlier defeat to their NFC North rival in this Week 17 matchup.
This contest in Week 17 of the regular season will go down Sunday, January 1, 2017, at 1 p.m. ET at U.S. Bank Stadium.
NFL Odds at BookMaker.eu
Chicago Bears +5
Minnesota Vikings -5
Over/Under 41
Odds Analysis
The Vikings were still a serious playoff contender when these teams met in Week 8. Minnesota was coming off its first loss of the season and was a solid 5-1 at the time, but lost outright as a 4.5-point favorite while the teams played below the closing total. The Vikings opened as 6.5-point chalk for this one, but early money on the visitors saw the line fall to its current total. Some weak defensive play recently by both clubs saw a spike in the total with 54 percent of the wagers on the over.
Injury Report
Leonard Floyd – Chicago’s rookie linebacker left the Redskins game with a concussion and is doubtful to play in the finale. Floyd has 7.0 sacks on the year and his presence up front will be missed, especially if the secondary continues to struggle. The Bears will need a healthy pass rush against a beat up Vikings line.
Deon Bush – The Bears’ pass defense has been suspect all season and with Bush exiting last game with an ankle injury, the group is in even worse shape. Watch for Sam Bradford to take some quick shots to his pass-catchers to avoid Chicago’s pass rush and the underneath routes could be available.
Matchup to Watch
It’s bad enough that the Vikings will miss the playoffs after starting the season 5-0. But the cornerstone of the team for that opening stretch, and what has kept them in most games since, has suddenly left the building. Minnesota’s rock solid defense floundered in an embarrassing 34-6 home loss to the Colts two weeks ago, and apparently some of the players decided among themselves to change things up and get away from Mike Zimmer’s game plan.
Unbeknownst to Zimmer, who wanted Xavier Rhodes to shadow Jordy Nelson, the defensive backs made a change with Terrance Newman covering the shifty Green Bay wideout. Zimmer was upset about the move, but called it a “miscommunication” and said he didn’t believe the cornerbacks intentionally changed their coverages. Nelson had a touchdown catch on the Packers’ second series and by the time the Vikings shifted their DB’s, they were in a hole they couldn’t get out of. For a season that had such a promising start, there seems to be some dissention among the ranks on a team that has lost eight of its last 10 and will play a meaningless Week 17 game.
Free ATS Pick
We don’t know what really happened with the Vikings and their defensive backs that caused such an uproar and was enough for Zimmer to address it in his post game presser. It could have been that the Vikings were torched the previous week by Andrew Luck and the Colts, or as the coach said, it was miscommunication. Either way, the struggles over the past 10 weeks have caught up with the Vikings and it has to be tough to finish out the season in a game for pride after Super Bowl aspirations were prevalent at the beginning of the year.
The Bears have shown some signs of having an offense with Matt Barkley under center and Jordan Howard as the lead back. Howard had a huge game against the Vikings in Chicago’s Week 8 victory, going for 153 yards and a touchdown on 26 carries. Expect to see the Minnesota defense key on Howard and if they can force Barkley to throw the ball, turnovers are a possibility. Barkley tossed five interceptions last week, has thrown eight in the past two games, and has 12 on the year in just 202 pass attempts. The Vikings will put their differences aside and get some payback on their division rival with a cover win.
NFL Odds: Vikings 27, Bears 20
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