MINNESOTA (3-5) at CHICAGO (5-4)
Monday, 7:15 p.m., ESPN, 790 KFGO/94.1 FM and 101.9 Jack FM
OPENING LINE – Bears by 2
RECORD VS. SPREAD – Vikings 5-3; Bears 5-4
SERIES RECORD – Vikings lead 60-56-2
LAST MEETING – Bears beat Vikings 21-19, Dec. 29, 2019 at Minnesota
LAST WEEK – Vikings beat Lions 34-20; Bears lost to Titans 24-17
AP PRO32 RANKING – Vikings No. 17, Bears No. 16
VIKINGS OFFENSE – OVERALL (11), RUSH (3), PASS (25).
VIKINGS DEFENSE – OVERALL (29), RUSH (20), PASS (30).
BEARS OFFENSE – OVERALL (29), RUSH (32), PASS (21).
BEARS DEFENSE – OVERALL (9), RUSH (14), PASS (7).
STREAKS, STATS AND NOTES – The Bears have won four straight over the Vikings and are 4-0 against them under coach Matt Nagy. … The Vikings are 3-14 at Soldier Field since it reopened in 2003 following renovations. They’re 2-4 there under coach Mike Zimmer. … Vikings RB Dalvin Cook, who received his second consecutive NFC Offensive Player of the Week award, has 478 yards and six TDs from scrimmage over the last two weeks. He leads the NFL with 858 rushing yards despite missing a game to a groin injury. With 13 total TDs, Cook has already matched his career high and tied for 12th on the single-season list in team history, with half of the schedule left to play. Cook has only 86 yards on 34 rushes in three career games against the Bears, having missed three other matchups due to injuries. … Vikings QB Kirk Cousins leads the league with an average of 8.9 yards per attempt. He’s 0-3 against the Bears since joining the Vikings, with three TDs, two interceptions and an average of 5.5 yards per attempt. Cousins is 0-9 in his career in Monday night games. … The Vikings were minus-7 in turnover margin over their first six games and plus-4 over their last two games. … Chicago has lost three straight. … The Bears have been outscored 56-7 in the third quarter. … QB Nick Foles is making his first start against Minnesota since the 2017 NFC championship game, when he threw for 352 yards and three touchdowns in a 38-7 romp to send the Philadelphia Eagles to the Super Bowl. Foles has 10 touchdown passes and seven interceptions. … The Bears are facing a top RB for the second straight week after holding Tennessee’s Derrick Henry to 68 yards. … LB Khalil Mack has 6 1/2 sacks and is on pace to get back into double digits after a four-year run ended last season. The three-time All-Pro has five sacks and four forced fumbles in five career Monday Night games. … RB David Montgomery suffered a concussion against Tennessee. … DT Akiem Hicks has 6 1/2 sacks in seven games against Minnesota. … Fantasy tip: Though he has just 88 yards rushing on 29 attempts, RB Cordarrelle Patterson could play a bigger role because of Montgomery’s concussion last week.
*Courtesy Associated Press
