Best Bets: Bears-Vikings spread, total, survivor picks

Last week Sam and Jeff demonstrated little faith in the beloved, both picking the Texans in this space.

However, both reversed their pick by Sunday morning and on the Livestream changed to taking the Bears. So while it may officially go in the loss column, it’s a win for their wallets and their egos, so for whatever that is worth.

Of course their over pick came up just short. That last field goal the Bears settled for really hurt them there.

Over in the survivor pool, Sam bowed out after flipping from the Cardinals to the 49ers and getting pummeled. So he’s out now.

Jeff rolls on but the pool lost five others last week.

In the pick ‘ems, Little G continued to build his lead over Assy McGee, 115 to 110, with Sam in fourth place behind Get Mitch or Die Trying. Jeff and Lester aren’t far behind in seventh and eighth place, respectively. The week’s high-scorer Naughty Armadillos deserves a shoutout for turning in an 11-point weekend.

Chicago Bears at Minnesota Vikings (-3, O/U 46)

Sam: The Bears and Vikings are both fighting for whatever is left of their playoff lives in a game I’m dubbing the “In the Hunt Bowl.” Neither team probably deserves to make the playoffs and neither appears built for any kind of deep run, but hey, there’s seven playoff spots this year and someone has to make it.

The Bears are 5-6 as underdogs this year, but 3-1 as dogs to teams with losing records, the outlier being the first meeting with the Vikings.

It’s not much to go on, but I am taking the Bears to cover here. The sample size of good performances is small, but I think Matt Nagy will have the team up and ready to go for a big division game that can keep the season alive for one more week.

Nagy has always had the team playing well against divisional opponents other than Green Bay. I think that Chicago will look to avenge their earlier poor performance against Minnesota.

Give me the under though, I don’t think the Bears’ new found offensive prowess will hold up against a Mike Zimmer defense that still ranks among the best on third downs and in the red zone, two areas Chicago has struggled all year.

Since I’m eliminated in the survivor pool, you probably don’t want to hear my picks. Had I not been eliminated I would’ve gone Baltimore and Cleveland, since I have used neither team this year.

Picks: Bears +3, under 46, Browns and Ravens (survivor)

Jeff: The Bears are back, right? Sam and I both changed our minds on the Bears last week on the livestream, ultimately picking the Bears to win outright. I bet the moneyline and everything worked out. Playoffs here we come.

Not so fast, my friends. The Bears would need to win out to have a shot and their first opponent is in the exact same position - the suddenly relevant Vikings. Week to week, the Vikings and Bears have moved in the opposite direction. No, seriously, check this out:

Week 1: Bears W 1-0, Vikings L 0-1

Week 2: Bears W 2-0, Vikings L 0-2

Week 3: Bears W 3-0, Vikings L 0-3

Week 4: Bears L 3-1, Vikings W 1-3

Week 5: Bears W 4-1, Vikings L 1-4

Week 6: Bears W 5-1, Vikings L 1-5

Week 7: Bears L 5-2, Vikings (bye) 1-5

Week 8: Bears L 5-3, Vikings W 2-5

Week 9: Bears L 5-4, Vikings W 3-5

Week 10: Bears L 5-5, Vikings W 4-5

Week 11: Bears (bye) 5-5, Vikings L 4-6

Week 12: Bears L 5-6, Vikings W 5-6

Week 13: Bears L 5-7, Vikings W 6-6

Week 14: Bears W 6-7, Vikings L 6-7

The only thing I know for certain is that the trend will continue for at least one more week (although a tie would be incredibly funny come to think of it). So, how do we bet this thing? I feel more comfortable about grabbing the over with the Bears offense showing some semblance of life with this new offensive line configuration. I’m also taking the underdog because I think 3 points is too much to lay on either side here. Give me the Bears +3 and Over 46.

As for Survivor League, we’re down to the Top 10. We only have one perfect sheet remaining as two teams took their first strike in last night’s game with the Chargers big comeback win over the Raiders. Three teams own two strikes including WCG boss, Lester Wiltfong Jr. I’m sitting in the middle of that pack with the remaining five contestants. Sam, sadly, took his final strike with the 49ers last week. Hey, at least he went down swinging!

I had one easy choice, the Ravens at home over the Jags. A Ravens loss here would be a pretty incredible upset at this stage of the season and represents the only no-brainer I had left. The other choice came down to the Raiders (whew!), the 49ers on the road at Dallas, or Cleveland bouncing back after their loss to the Ravens on the road against the Giants. Ultimately, I’m taking the Browns. I think they’ve got an excellent chance of walking away with an easy win against a Giants team that, despite the gritty November run, doesn’t impress me. The downside to that pick is that I’m sacrificing the Browns in advance of their date with the Jets next week. But that’s for future JB to worry about. Let’s just survive Week 15 first.

Picks: Chicago +3, Over 46, Ravens and Browns (Survivor)