Minnesota Vikings at Chicago Bears: Week 11 prediction
By Erik Lambert
The last time the Minnesota Vikings at Chicago Bears game had any sort of meaning in a season in November was way back in 2012.
Both teams were fighting for a wild card spot. Chicago won the game 28-10, but they’d have to meet again two weeks later. Minnesota was 6-6. Chicago was 8-4. The Vikings pulled off the win and went on to close out the season on a winning streak to steal the playoff berth at the end. Chicago hasn’t had a winning season since. So there will be plenty of bad blood going into this game. The two teams know how important this showdown is. It could reverberate throughout the rest of the year even with six games still to go afterward.
Storylines:
The division lead is on the line – There’s really only one storyline that matters at this point. Everything came into focus when news hit that the Green Bay Packers had lost up in Seattle. This dropped them to 4-5-1 on the season and considerably further back in the NFC North race. This means that the winner of this game could seize full control of the division.
Right now the Bears and Vikings are separated by a half game. Chicago is 6-3. Minnesota is 5-3-1. Whoever wins will hold an all-important tiebreaker as the season approaches the final stretch. The Bears have not beaten the Vikings since 2016. They’re 4-1 at home though and haven’t lost to Minnesota at Soldier Field in late November since 1971. Something has to give.