Battle of the North: Vikings vs. Bears — NFL Expert Picks & Predictions (9/20)
Written by: Varun Sharma
Published: Thu Sep 17, 2026, 4:45 pm ET
Read Time: 5 minutes
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+185
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The NFL is back in full swing and Week 1 was one for the history books. We had the highest scoring Week 1 in NFL history and it feels like we're about to pick up where we left off. The Chicago Bears set the single game scoring record for Week 1 last week with 52 points, but now they host the Minnesota Vikings and this blitz crazed defense.
With so much to talk about, let's jump right into this battle in the North.
For additional information on picks, props, moneylines, and more on today's slate, take a look at our NFL Picks Page or our NFL Odds Page.
Game Information
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Matchup Information
- Location: Soldier Field; Chicago, Illinois
- Date: Sunday, September 20th, 2026
- Kickoff: 1:00 PM EST
Quarterback Matchup
- Minnesota Vikings: Carson Wentz (2025: 2-3; 243.2 YPG | 6 TD | 5 INT)
- Chicago Bears: Caleb Williams (2025: 11-6; 231.9 YPG | 27 TD | 7 INT)
Betting Odds
Odds via Lucky Rebel, an industry leader in the sports betting world.
Analysis & Breakdown
Bear Down
The Bears came out in Week 1 and put on a show. The team scored 59 points, scored 8 total touchdowns and had 552 total yards of offense. Caleb Williams was great in the season opener, completing 72% of passes for 269 yards, 2 passing touchdowns and 2 touchdowns on the ground.
Williams finished the game with a passer rating of 124.4 and was sacked only 2 times on the day. Alongside Caleb, was this Bears' run game. Chicago finished with 291 yards on the ground, the team averaged 7.5 yards per attempt and they recorded 11 first downs on the ground.
D'Andre Swift and Kyle Monangai combined for 224 rushing yards, 34 receiving yards, 4 touchdowns and both backs finished with 100+ rushing yards.
The problem for Chicago isn't their offense, it's once again the defense. The Bears gave up 37 points to the Carolina Panthers, allowed career games from both Bryce Young and Jalen Coker; and surrendered 7.5 yards per play.
Young finished with 361 yards through the air, 3 touchdown passes, 1 touchdown on the ground and a passer rating of 110.2. Coker caught 8 of his 9 targets for 138 yards, 2 touchdowns and averaged 17.3 yards per catch.
Chicago has a lot of questions to answer on defense, but until then; there's a good chance they can just outscore them.
Blitz, Blitz & Blitz Some More
The Minnesota Vikings are came into Week 1 and that defense picked up exactly where it left off last year. This Brian Flores lead defense blitzed on 82% of their defensive plays last week. For reference, no other play caller had a blitz rate greater than 50%.
DC Brian Flores is in a category of his own when it comes to generating pressure and you could see it on full display against the Green Bay Packers.
Jordan Love was pressured on over 70% of his dropbacks in Week 1, they made him uncomfortable and in the 2nd quarter the OL just couldn't handle the pressure. Protection blew up and the Vikings continued to wreak havoc.
Offensively, the Vikings have a lot to be desired. Kyler Murray's debut lasted just two drives, one ended in an interception and then a concussion put him out for the rest of the game.
Carson Wentz came in the game and did a lot more than just fill in. Wentz threw for just 133 passing yards, but ended the game with 3 touchdown passes. The Vikings finished with just 239 total yards of offense, but somehow scored 39 points.
This team runs on their defense and if they hope to slow down this Ben Johnson offense; they'll need to make Caleb as uncomfortable as possible.
Sunday's Best Bets
Jordan Addison o34.5 Receiving Yards (-115) | Lucky Rebel
The Bears secondary got torched in Week 1 and while normally a single week of data isn't enough; this is the exact thing we saw last year from Chicago. The defense can't get pressure, leaving an already poor secondary even more vulnerable.
Jalen Coker and Tetairoa McMillan combined for 213 receiving yards last week and as we know; a majority came from Coker. Coker plays a ton in the slot and it's where we saw the Bears struggle a lot last week.
This week they've got to deal with the speedster, Jordan Addison, in that very same spot. Addison saw just 2 targets in the team's Week 1 victory, but his history with Wentz is very different.
Addison averaged 7.5 targets per game in the 5 games with Wentz under center last year; averaging 77 receiving yards per game and 5.3 receptions per contest. The two have a built in chemistry that we didn't get to see last week, but against this Bears' defense; everyone should get a turn.
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