Chicago Bears (2-2) at Minnesota Vikings (3-1)

Expected by many to be the worst team in the league, the Bears somewhat surprisingly have a couple wins at 2-2, but if you look at how they got those wins, it’s not hard to see how they could still be the worst team in the league going forward. In both of their wins, the Bears have lost the first down rate and yards per play battle, by 0.41% and 1.30 against the 49ers and by 1.39% and 0.08 against the Texans. Meanwhile, their loss to the Packers was not competitive, with the Bears losing the first down rate and yards per play battle by 10.85% and 0.71 respectively, while their other loss came to a mediocre Giants team in a game in which the Bears lost the first down rate battle by 7.94% and the yards per play battle by 0.39. 

In terms of schedule adjusted overall efficiency, which is based on first downs and yards, the Bears rank 29th, with well below average marks on offense (28th) and defense (22nd). They’re not quite the worst team in the league in that metric, but my roster rankings do have them as the worst team in the league, by a pretty significant margin, especially now that their top offensive lineman Cody Whitehair is out with injury. I don’t think this line, which has the Bears as just 7.5 point underdogs in Minnesota, fully takes into account how bad the Bears are.

This line may also underrate the Vikings too. The Vikings are 3-1, with their only loss coming to the 4-0 Eagles, and have a better offensive coaching staff and a much healthier defense than the past couple seasons. My roster rankings have the Vikings about 5 points above average and about 16 points above the dead last ranked Bears. Schedule adjusted efficiency also has a big gap between these two teams, giving the Vikings the edge by 12 points. This is a pretty big line, given that about half of games are decided by seven points or less, but, any way you look at it, the Vikings should be favored by significantly more than 7.5 points at home against the Bears, at least double digits, possibly multiple touchdowns, given the gap between these two teams. This is my pick of the Week.

Minnesota Vikings 24 Chicago Bears 10

Pick against the spread: Minnesota -7.5

Confidence: Pick of the Week