The Minnesota Vikings visit the Chicago Bears for the first Monday Night Football game of the season.
The pregame narrative: The Bears are slight underdogs in this NFC North matchup. Caleb Williams is expected to take a leap in his second season, while the Vikings are coming off a 14-3 finish. J.J. McCarthy will make his first NFL career start after missing all of his rookie year recovering from an injury.
Check out my Vikings vs. Bears same-game parlay predictions for Week 1 below, featuring Rome Odunze and T.J. Hockenson.
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Vikings vs. Bears SGP predictions
SGP: Bears ML | Odunze 4+ receptions | Hockenson 4+ receptions (+325)
Bears ML (+100): Minnesota was last year's surprise team in the NFC North, and this year I expect that mantle to belong to the Bears.
- Chicago finished 5-12 last year but fired head coach Matt Eberflus and replaced him with former Detroit Lions OC Ben Johnson.
- I know it's only preseason, but the new offence looked dynamic, scoring 25+ points in all three games.
- The Bears looked particularly dangerous when the first unit was in. Caleb Williams completed 17-of-25 passes for 220 yards, two touchdowns and no turnovers.
When Minnesota played Chicago at home last season, the Bears narrowly lost by a field goal in overtime.
With J.J. McCarthy yet to play a down at the NFL level, I believe there are more questions for the Vikings, who will also be missing their WR2 Jordan Addison for this contest.
Monday Night Football SGP picks
Odunze 4+ receptions (-205): Along with Williams, I expect a sophomore breakout for the former top-10 pick.
Odunze finished his rookie season with 734 yards on 54 receptions. He was targeted 101 times, but had chemistry issues with Williams.
If he's getting six targets or more again in 2024-25, he should be a lot more consistent and reach the 1,000-yard mark.
Other than natural progression, there is another reason to believe Odunze is in for an expanded role as a sophomore.
And that's the departure of Keenan Allen in the offseason. Allen was targeted 121 times in 2024, and the Bears didn't bring in any experienced wide receivers to replace that production.
That should leave more receptions for both DJ Moore and Odunze, who will serve as the clear top two pass catchers on this offence.
Hockenson 4+ receptions (-220): The tight end should be working as the secondary receiver for the Vikings behind Justin Jefferson.
Hockenson missed the first seven games last season and still managed to finish with 42 receptions.
He went 5-5 against this line but should be in line for a bigger role with Addison serving his suspension.
During his last full healthy season in 2023, he averaged 6.3 receptions per game.
If we go back to those last 10 games from 2024-25, that was also when Addison broke out to become one of the best WR2s in football.
Until he returns, Hockenson should be in line for more attention from McCarthy. The rookie could also need his safety blanket more than usual against a stout Bears defence.
Vikings vs. Bears predictions made at 10:44 a.m. on 09/07/2025.
