It’s the time of year where the Minnesota Vikings get to make their annual trip to Soldier Field, as Monday Night Football this week will have the purple hitting the road to take on the Chicago Bears in their penultimate (regular season) road game of the 2021 NFL season.
The Vikings, as we know, have played every game close this season, and last week was no exception even after getting out to a 29-0 lead that they held midway through the third quarter. As usual, they had to hold off a furious rally at the end from the Pittsburgh Steelers and hold on for a 36-28 victory. Of the 13 games that the Vikings have played this season, twelve have come down to one score.
This is the second prime-time game in a row for the Bears, who lost to the Green Bay Packers on Sunday Night Football last week by a score of 45-30. They got a monster game from Jakeem Grant, including a 97-yard punt return for a touchdown, so the Vikings’ special teams will have to be on their toes.
It looks like the Vikings will be getting their first look at the player that many thought they were trying to trade up for in the 2021 NFL Draft in quarterback Justin Fields. The Bears ultimately, gave up a bevy of picks to the New York Giants to move up and select Fields, who has had a bit of a rough go as a rookie under the. . .ahem. . .tutelage of coach Matt Nagy, who by all accounts is a dead man walking the Chicago sidelines at this point.
According to our friends at the DraftKings Sportsbook, the Vikings are currently a 3.5-point favorite for this one, with the over/under tally currently sitting at 44 points.
Because this is Monday Night Football, the game will be aired on ESPN, with kickoff scheduled for approximately 7:20 PM Central time.