Bears Host Vikings in Important NFC North Showdown

The Chicago Bears (3-3 SU, 3-2-1 ATS, 2-4 O/U), fell to the surprising, young Atlanta Falcons 22-20 on the road last week on a last-second field goal and need a win in the worst way as they host their longtime NFC North rivals, the Minnesota Vikings (3-3 SU, 2-4 ATS, 3-3 O/U) this week.

While the Vikings are coming off a 12-10 win over the lowly Detroit Lions at home in the BetUS Sportsbook on Sunday, their narrow win was revealing to say the least!

Both teams will be gunning for victory when they meet in this matchup at Soldier Field on Sunday.

While the Bears have shown an inability to win close games this season, suffering all three of their losses by three points or less, they still have generally looked more competent than the Vikings this season under quarterback Kyle Orton.

Minnesota escaped with a win despite failing to cover as 13-point favorites against the atrocious Lions as veteran quarterback Gus Frerotte completed 18 of 33 passes for 296 yards with one touchdown and one interception while elusive running back Adrian Peterson rushed for 111 yards on 25 carries.

Orton completed 26 of 43 passes for 286 yards with one touchdown and no picks for Chicago while young running back Matt Forte rushed for 76 yards on 20 carries with one touchdown, tough Chicago failed to cover as three-point favorites.

While the Vikings looked really, really bad in beating the Lions and Vikings fans are suddenly calling for head coach Brad Childress’ head, the team says they are winning games no matter how ugly the outcome.

"It's just a weird dynamic right now," Vikings linebacker Ben Leber said. "I understand the fans are frustrated, but we're getting wins. They may not be as pretty as some of them were in the past, but we're getting wins."

Chicago blew a slim lead with just 11 seconds remaining in regulation after kicking off to the Falcons. Rookie quarterback Matt Ryan hooked up with wideout Michael Jenkins for an immense 26-yards reception with just one second remaining in regulation before veteran place kicker Jason Elam nailed the game-winning 48-yard field goal as time expired, prompting Chicago’s Orton to say, "You have to play a full game ... we didn't."

Chicago is averaging 24.7 points per game while allowing just 18.2 points per game defensively. Minnesota is scoring just 18.8 points per game while allowing more points per game, (19.8) than they are averaging.

Here is a look at the key trends for each team, followed by my in-depth analysis and NFL free Picks:

Minnesota is 5-11 SU in its last 16 games on the road

The total has gone OVER in 4 of Minnesota's last 6 games on the road

Minnesota is 3-5-1 ATS in its last 9 games when playing Chicago

Minnesota is 1-3-1 ATS in its last 5 games when playing on the road against Chicago

Chicago is 6-2-1 ATS in its last 9 games

The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Chicago's last 6 games

Chicago is 4-2 ATS in its last 6 games at home

Chicago is 5-10 ATS in its last 15 games at home