Experts divided on Vikings chances to win vs Bears in Week 11

The Sunday Night Football game in Week 11 between the Minnesota Vikings and Chicago Bears has experts divided on who will be victorious at Soldier Field.

The bye week is finally over for the Minnesota Vikings and their opponent in Week 11 is the Chicago Bears, who currently sit on top of the NFC North and will host the game at Soldier Field on Sunday Night Football.

The winner of this game will be on top of the division with only six games remaining in the 2018 season. That means this game has huge implications, especially with four of the final seven games for Minnesota being divisional matchups.

When looking at who the experts think will get the win on Sunday Night Football, the responses vary pretty wildly. Let’s take a look at some opinions from the most prominent sites on the internet!

Picking the Minnesota Vikings

• CBS Sports – Pete Prisco: “The Minnesota pass rush will get after Mitch Trubisky and cause a few turnovers that are the difference in this game.” (21-14)
• CBS Sports: Jason LaCanfora, Wil Brinson, Jared Dubin, Ryan Wilson, Dave Richard, Jamie Eisenberg
• Chicago Sun-Times – Adam L. Jahns: “The Vikings are good but beatable.” (24-20)
• Chicago Sun-Times – Pat Finley: “The Vikings’ guys are proven, and the Bears’ aren’t … yet.” (27-24)
• NESN – Ricky: “Offensively, the Vikings should find success thanks to Cook’s return, particularly in the screen game.”
• Pioneer Press – Kevin Cusick: “Chicago’s Cody Parkey came under fire Sunday after missing two field goals and a pair of extra points in the Bears’ victory over Detroit.” (Vikings by 3) 
• SBNation: Stephen White, Geoff Schwartz, Adam Stites, Christian D’Andrea
• Sporting News – Vinnie Iyer: “They won’t be able to run well on Minnesota, and the Vikings’ pass rush and corners will make it rough on Trubisky.” (24-20)
• USA Today: Jarrett Bell (26-23), Nate Davis (24-20), Mike Jones (30-28), Mike Middlehurst-Schwartz (26-16), Lorenzo Reyes (28-27)

There are a lot of great reasons to like Minnesota in this game. The Vikings have shown some great improvements in their defense as well as protection of Kirk Cousins with a resurgence in their run game. Couple that with the week off for rest and health, and the chances of a road win look pretty decent.

Picking the Chicago Bears

• Bleacher Report – Consensus: “For the first time in eight meetings dating back to 2014, the Chicago Bears are favored to beat the Minnesota Vikings” (20-24)
• CBS Sports – Ryan Wilson: “Matt Nagy should be the front runner for Coach of the Year honors.” (18-20)
• CBS Sports: John Breech
• Chicago Sun-Times – Rick Morrisey: “Anyway, the Bears’ defense is going to make life very difficult for Kirk Cousins at a very pumped-up Soldier Field.” (21-24)
• Chicago Sun-Times – Mark Potash: “Like most Bears-Vikings games at Soldier Field, this one should go down to the wire.” (17-20)
• Chicago Sun-Times – Rick Telander: “This is a game that seems likely to come down to field goals.” (22-24)
• NESN – Andre: “The Bears are great at stopping the run and have allowed 3.6 yards per carry.”
• NESN – Mike: “The Vikings still struggle in pass-blocking situations”
• NFL.com – Elliot Harrison: “Mitch Trubisky’s mobility will be paramount in this game.” (20-24)
• Pro Football Talk – Mike Florio: “The Bears get their biggest test of the year. They’re good enough to pass it.” (24-27)
• Pro Football Talk – MDS: “First place in the NFC North is on the line, and I think the Bears are primed for one of their best performances in front of what should be a great home crowd.” (24-27)
• SBNation: RVB, Charles McDonald, Joe McAtee
• Sporting News – David Steele: “A good ol’ fashioned, rock-em sock-em, Black and Blue Division slugfest” (24-26)

The best news here is that no expert has the Bears winning by more than four points, but containing their strong defense while slowing down the offense will be a massive challenge for Minnesota.

Eagle-eyed readers may have noticed that Ryan Wilson of CBS Sports has picked both the Vikings and the Bears in different articles. And I don’t blame him, since this game could go either way on Sunday Night Football.

Personally, I’m going with the Vikings on this one. Minnesota is going to show the Bears a huge pass rush while Kirk Cousins will need to get rid of the ball quickly, but should still be able to find success on offense.

Who do you have in the Week 11 game between the Minnesota Vikings and Chicago Bears? And how much of a factor will the game’s location of Soldier Field be in the outcome? Let us know in the comments!