NFL Opening Odds: Vikings begin week as slight favorite over Bears

It will be a battle for the bottom of the NFC North on Sunday afternoon at Soldier Field, as the Minnesota Vikings will make their annual trip to Chicago to take on the Chicago Bears. This is a lot earlier in the season than the Vikings have been accustomed to traveling to Chicago in recent years, and despite a few potentially glaring issues, the Vikings have opened the week leading up to this one as the betting favorite.

According to the folks from the DraftKings Sportsbook, the Vikings are currently sitting as a 3-point favorite over the Bears as the week gets underway.

The Vikings are coming off of another one-score loss, as they fell to the Kansas City Chiefs at U.S. Bank Stadium on Sunday by a score of 27-20. If that wasn’t bad enough, it sounds like the Vikings will be without star wide receiver Justin Jefferson, who suffered a hamstring injury during the second half of Sunday’s loss. Kevin O’Connell has said that Jefferson is still being evaluated, and that’s obviously something that we’ll be tracking throughout the week.

Chicago, on the other hand, has some momentum behind them. In Week 5, they got their first victory since October of 2022, thrashing the Washington Commanders on Thursday Night Football by a score of 40-20. They got big games from D.J. Moore and Justin Fields to come away with the victory.

Whichever team loses this one will have sole possession of last place in the NFC North. That isn’t something that the Vikings have been that familiar with in recent years, and even though it looks like it’s going to be a long rest of the season for Vikings fans, a win over the Bears. . .particularly in Chicago. . .is always nice to see.

Given the circumstances, do you think the Vikings should be favored over the Bears this week?