Chicago Bears at Minnesota Vikings Spread

The Chicago Bears will try to avoid a sixth straight defeat when they visit the Minnesota Vikings (3-12) Sunday.

The Bears are currently listed as a one-point underdog with the total set at 41.

Chicago saw its playoff hopes come to an end with a 35-21 loss to the Green Bay Packers on Christmas.

With Caleb Hanie unable to get the job done in relief of an injured Jay Cutler, the Bears turned to journeyman Josh McCown against the Packers. Unfortunately, the result was the same as McCown completed 19 of 28 passes for 242 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions.

Together, Hanie and McCown have thrown 12 interceptions during Chicago’s losing streak.

Roy Williams led the Bears with six receptions and 81 receiving yards.

Kahlil Bell led the way on the ground with 121 of the team’s 199 rushing yards.

The Vikings brought their six-game losing streak to an end in Week 16 with a 33-26 victory over the Washington Redskins.

In relief of an injured Christian Ponder, Joe Webb ignited the Vikings. He completed 4 of 5 passes for 84 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions and rushed for another score.

Percy Harvin, who hauled in one of Webb’s touchdown passes, led the team with five catches and 65 receiving yards.

Toby Gerhart led the ground attack with 109 of the team’s 241 rushing yards.

The Bears have won the last four in this series with the most recent being a 39-10 victory on Oct. 16. Cutler completed 21 of 31 passes for 267 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions in that game against a Minnesota defense currently ranked 29th in the NFL against the pass with 260.1 yards allowed per contest.

I think it’s safe to say Chicago won’t be able to take advantage of Minnesota through the air the same way without Cutler.

The Bears have won the last three in this series by an average of 23 points but injuries to key players like Cutler and Matt Forte will likely keep them from being able to put the hurt on the Vikings again.

With that said, the Bears should still have an opportunity to close the season on a positive note against a Minnesota team that is 1-6 at home and 0-5 in division play.

As far as the total is concerned, the over has been the play. These two have played to the over in eight of the last 12 matchups with one push.

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