Week 7 Rumble - Minnesota Vikings vs. Chicago Bears

Two long-time bitter divisional rivals take the field on Sunday afternoon in the “Windy City” when the NFL betting decisions. Since 2003, the teams are fairly evenly matched, as Chicago is 5-5 SU and 6-4 ATS.

The good news for HC Brad Childress and the Vikings is that they narrowly avoided the embarrassment of losing to the Detroit Lions at home. The bad news for their sports bettors is that they were the first team to fail to cover the spread against the boys from the “Motor City” this season.

QB Gus Frerotte put forth a serviceable game, going 18-for-33 for 296 yards. RB Adrian Peterson ran for 111 yards on 25 carries, but the key play of the game came when Detroit QB Dan Orlovsky ran out of the back of the end zone with little to no pressure on him whatsoever. The safety proved to be the difference between the two teams.

The Vikings defense had another stellar game, limiting the Lions to just 212 total yards. They rank 7th in the NFL, only allowing 284 yards per game, the 3rd best mark in the conference.

Chicago had a tremendous chance to assert themselves as a real NFC powerhouse in Atlanta against the Falcons last Sunday, and with just 0:17 to go, they looked like they were going to do it.

Even though they were never in front of the three-point spread for Bears bettors, there was no excuse to lose after Kyle Orton hooked up with Rasheid Davis on what appeared to be the game-winning touchdown. But a long pass down the sidelines and a 48-yard field goal later, it was the Falcons celebrating the 22-20 victory.

Orton had another surprisingly efficient game, completing 26-of-43 passes for 286 yards. He’s now thrown eight touchdown passes against just four interceptions this year. Rookie RB Matt Forte scored his 5th TD of the season against Atlanta.

Oddsmakers have installed the Bears as 3-point favorites, with the ‘total’ coming in at 38.

The betting trends offer very mixed thoughts. The home team is 8-3 ATS in the L/11 meetings between these teams, but the underdog is 17-8 ATS in the L/25 overall showdowns. The recent history is advantage Chicago, though. The Bears are 6-2-1 ATS in their L/9 overall, while the Vikes are 2-7 ATS in that same stretch.

Even though early NFL betting action has been on the ‘under’, the ‘over’ might be the way to go in this match-up. In the L/22 games at Soldier Field, ‘over’ bettors have gone 17-5. Chicago has also gone 24-9-1 towards the ‘over’ in their L/34 conference games.

moneylines, login to your account right now and get your bets down for this fantastic NFC North match-up!