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The Vikings (8-5) take on the Chicago Bears (5-8) at the University of Minnesota Sunday. A win this weekend would give Minnesota its fourth NFC North victory in 2015. The Vikings had three division victories combined in the past two seasons. We scoped the web to see what the experts were predicting for the Vikings-Bears matchup Sunday.
Both teams have lost two straight, but the Vikings are still alive in the playoff picture. The Vikings played well in their loss to the Cardinals and they've had extra time to help get some injured players back. Their motivation is important here. The Vikings take it. The Bears initial starting TE Martellus Bennett was placed on the IR with a rib injury. Miller had five catches for 85 yards and a touchdown last week against Washington and has five receiving touchdowns on the season.
Vikings 27, Bears 21--Pete Prisco, CBS Sports
If the Vikings win out, they win the NFC North. I'm not sure if they're going to do that, but they're at least going to stay in contention with a win over the Bears.
Vikings 24, Bears 23--Michael David Smith, Pro Football Talk
Not a great opponent? Check. Not a prime-time game? Check. It's looking like 150 yards or more for Adrian Peterson, a ninth win, and a big step closer to the No. 6 seed.
Vikings 27, Bears 20--Mike Florio, Pro Football Talk
Twice in the last month, the Minnesota Vikings have had a chance to make a statement—to show that they are legitimate contenders in the NFC.
And in a home loss to the Green Bay Packers and a road loss to the Arizona Cardinals, twice the Vikings have failed.
…
It's simple. Take care of business the next three weeks, and the Vikings will win the division.
And where the first of those challenges are concerned, our experts expect the Vikes to answer the call.
Vikings--Gary Davenport, Bleacher Report
Each Tuesday, WhatIfSports.com's **NFL simulation engine* generates predictions and box scores for every NFL game for the coming week. The highly sophisticated algorithms simulate every play of every game to produce each team's likelihood to win. Each matchup is simulated 501 times.*
Win Percentage: 65.8%, Average Score: Vikings 27, Bears 21--WhatIfSports.com
FiveThirtyEight's 2015 NFL forecast uses an Elo-based model to calculate each team's chances of advancing to the playoffs and winning Super Bowl 50. Playoff probabilities are based on 20,000 simulations of the season and will update after each game.
Pre-game win probabilities: Vikings 73%--FiveThirtyEight.com
8 of 8 experts pick the Vikings, CBS Sports
7 of 8 experts pick the Vikings, FOX Sports
8 of 8 experts pick the Vikings, Bleacher Report
7 of 8 experts pick the Vikings, SB Nation
8 of 8 experts pick the Vikings, USA Today Sports
