USA Today Sports. Pictured: Khalil Mack, Kirk Cousins
Betting odds: Chicago Bears at Minnesota Vikings
- Spread: Vikings -4.5
- Over/Under: 40.5
- Time: 4:25 p.m. ET
- TV channel: FOX
>> All odds as of Thursday evening. Download The Action Network App to get real-time NFL odds and track your bets
Betting market: This line has been all over the place since opening. Initially, it line moved from Vikings -4 to -6.5, as folks might have thought the Bears would rest players.
But when Matt Nagy confirmed Wednesday that they wouldn’t, steam hit the Bears, causing them to fall to +3.5.
There has since been a bit of buyback in the other direction, as Minnesota is back up to -4.5, but Chicago remains a very trendy dog, with 64% of the bets at the time of writing (see live data here).
The under has also been very popular (69% of bets, 94% of money), which has caused the total to drop from 41.5. — Mark Gallant
Trends to know: The 11-4 Bears are a popular underdog play. But according to our Bet Labs data, teams that have won 70% or more of their games (like Chicago) have gone 66-78-3 against the spread as an underdog in December or later in the season, including 9-15-1 (38%) ATS in Week 17. — John Ewing
Playoff picture: The Vikings and Eagles are battling it out for the NFC’s sixth and final playoff spot. Minnesota clinches a berth with a win or a tie over the Bears. If the Vikings lose, they’d need the Eagles to lose or tie.
Our simulations give the Vikings a 63.8% chance of making the postseason.
The Bears might be doing a little scoreboard watching on Sunday, as they’d be locked into the 3-seed if the Rams beat Arizona as a 10-point favorite. So it’s always possible Chicago pulls its starters if LA gets up big.
A loss from LA and a win by Chicago would land the Bears a first-round bye as the 2-seed. — Scott T. Miller