Vikings minus 5 hosting Bears
Even though they are out of the playoffs the Vikings still have a very good defense and strong home field advantage.
I can’t see Matt Barkley doing much here. Barkley has been exposed as the third-stringer he is during the past couple of weeks throwing eight interceptions during this span. The Bears have committed nine turnovers in their last two games with no takeaways. Barkley is going to struggle against a Minnesota defense that gives up the second-fewest yards in the NFL and has star safety Harrison Smith back from injury. Barkley has never faced a defense this good on the road.
The Vikings have revenge from a 20-10 Week 8 loss on Monday night to the Bears. Fiery Mike Zimmer wants to end the year on a positive note. So Minnesota will be properly motivated.
The Bears have been at their worst on the road going 0-7 while allowing an average of 26.7 points and 372.4 yards a game. Minnesota has covered eight of the last 10 times when facing a sub .500 foe and has also covered 75 percent of its past 28 home games.
Sam Bradford has the highest completion percentage in the league. The Vikings rank last in rushing, but should be able to run better than they have against a Bears defense that has permitted triple digits on the ground the past six games and probably will be without promising rookie linebacker Leonard Floyd, who suffered a concussion last week. The Bears already are down several key defenders, including nose tackle Eddie Goldman and linebacker Danny Trevathan.
