Windy City Gridiron
Our partners at FanDuel Sportsbook dropped some early Week 11 NFL odds, and they’re giving the Chicago Bears 2.5 points on the road against the division rival Minnesota Vikings. The point total over/under for the game is 45.5.
These two teams met in the season opener, and the Vikes beat the Bears 27 to 24 after an impressive comeback led by second-year quarterback J.J. McCarthy. After being bottled up most of the game, McCarthy threw for two touchdowns and ran for another in the fourth quarter. Then again, I’m not sure if that was J.J. on the comeback or his alter ego, “Nine,” who we learned about last week.
In case you missed it, McCarthy said that he began his transformation into Nine last year while on injured reserve, but he really understood and adopted the gameday persona this season while sidelined with an ankle injury.
“It was this built-up anger that was kind of ready to just explode, and I chose to harness it instead of letting it go into a self-destructive kind of way,” McCarthy said of his Mr. Hyde-like other self. “And it’s unique and I love feeding that wolf, because my entire life, at Michigan, it was the smiley face on my hand and smile and you have fun, you’re going to play better and all that, which is true, but I also think there’s a lot of power that comes from that built-up anger that you can transmute into your performance.”
Earlier today, in their 27-19 loss to the Baltimore Ravens, Nine completed 20 of 42 passes for 248 yards, with one touchdown and two interceptions, for a passer rating of 54.5. He added 48 yards rushing on five rushes, and he was sacked once.
The Bears came back to beat the New York Giants earlier today, 24 to 20, behind a passing and rushing touchdown by Caleb Williams in the fourth quarter.
The (6-3) Bears play the (4-5) Vikings at Noon on Sunday, November 16, from U.S. Bank Stadium.
