Chicago Bears: Why the Vikings game will decide the NFC North

The Chicago Bears face their toughest test against the Minnesota Vikings in what will likely decide the division.

Al Michaels will kick it to Carrie Underwood, who will lead all of America into Sunday Night Football in which the Chicago Bears will take on the Minnesota Vikings. But once the pomp and circumstance subside, all that will be left is a game which will likely decide the fate of the NFC North.

Now you may be thinking a statement like that is pure hyperbole. It’s only Week 11, so how could the division be decided on Sunday night? Well, there are a couple of reasons.

First, let’s look at the numbers which support that statement.

ESPN’s Football Power Index (FPI) is a measure of a team’s strength and meant to be a predictor of future performance. The FPI gives the Monsters a 57.5 percent chance to win on Sunday night against the Vikings and Kirk Cousins who is 4-19 in his career against teams with a .500 or better record.

However, what’s more revealing is what the FPI says about the winner’s chances of taking home the division crown. If the Vikings win, they will have a 49 percent chance to win the North. If they lose, that percentage drops to just 16. What about the Bears you ask? Well, if they win, they will have a 68 percent chance to win the division and only a 32 percent chance if they lose.

Second, the way in which the schedule plays out over the next two weeks is crucial. Following the completion of Sunday’s game, the Bears will have just about 85 hours before they have to take on the Detroit Lions on Thanksgiving day.

The Lions are a hot mess at the moment. They traded away Golden Tate, and their coach is more concerned with scolding the media about posture, or educating them on why he had his players practice in the snow than he is about winning. They’ve all but waived the white flag.

Following that, the Bears travel to New Jersey to take on the New York Giants. The only thing the Giants are still playing for is the No. 1 overall draft pick. In other words, if the Bears can win on Sunday, they could easily move to 9-3 over the next two weeks.

The Vikings have a more difficult path over that time. After the Bears game, they head home to face the Green Bay Packers. While they are in the midst of their own debacle, Aaron Rodgers can win a game by himself. And it’s a divisional game which is always dangerous. After that, they go to New England to take on Tom Brady and the Patriots. Just as the Bears could win their next two, the Vikings could lose their next two.

In other words, you have to like the Bears chances if they win on Sunday. Will they step on the throats of the Vikings and take a stranglehold of this division? We’re days away from finding out.