The Daily Sweat: Vikings can't afford to turn one loss into a losing streak

The Minnesota Vikings have been a tremendous story this season, thriving despite a bad start and injuries to Kirk Cousins and Justin Jefferson.

But it's the NFL. Great stories can fade quickly.

One close loss shouldn't put a team in much danger, but the Vikings didn't have a big margin for error. They started the season 1-4. Then came a five-game winning streak, which was snapped by the Denver Broncos last week. They're 6-5, still doing fine in the playoff picture but also with the Green Bay Packers, Los Angeles Rams and New Orleans Saints lurking at 5-6.

That makes a winnable game Monday night a big one for the Vikings. They face the Chicago Bears at home and are curiously just a 3-point favorite at BetMGM. That's not showing a lot of faith in the Vikings against a 3-8 Bears team.

There shouldn't be much reason to doubt the Vikings. They do have five losses but all of them have been by seven points or less. The loss to the Broncos, who are suddenly one of the hottest teams in the NFL, came on the road and in the final minutes. Minnesota's pressure-based defense has been pretty good, and the offense has been kept afloat by Joshua Dobbs after a midseason trade for him. They also have a 19-13 win at the Bears too, thought that came with Cousins at quarterback.

The Bears have not been good. They're just 1-6 in Justin Fields' starts. Fields has exceptional playmaking ability, but the only time it paid off in a win this season came against a bad Washington Commanders team.

The NFC playoff race will get a lot more interesting if the Vikings do lose again Monday. The betting market doesn't seem to be overly confident in them beating a bad Bears team at home.

Here's a first look at the sports betting slate for Monday:

Quiet night in basketball

There are just five games in the NBA on Monday night. The best matchup is the Los Angeles Lakers at the Philadelphia 76ers, with the 76ers as 5.5-point favorites. That's the only NBA game on Monday between two winning teams, though the Denver Nuggets at the Los Angeles Clippers has some intrigue too. The 7-8 Clippers are 5.5-point favorites.

There aren't many intriguing matchups in college basketball either. UConn is the only Top 25 team in action, and it's a 31.5-point favorite against New Hampshire. Utah at St. Mary's is the best game on the schedule. St. Mary's, which recently had a surprising three-game losing streak that included a bad home loss to Weber State, is favored by 4.5.

NHL has 6 games

The best of the six games in the NHL happens in Denver, where the Tampa Bay Lightning travel to take on the Colorado Avalanche. The Avs have won three in a row and lead the Central Division.

What's the best bet?

Sometimes the obvious bet is obvious for a reason. Especially this NFL week, in which favorites have covered at least 11 of the 15 games (the Eagles were between a 2.5- and 3.5-point favorite and won by three). I don't see a great reason to bet against the Vikings. Justin Fields has the ability to put up a big game, but it's not like the Bears are playing that well with him at quarterback this season. If anything, the Vikings are unlucky to be just 6-5 this season. Maybe the wheels fall off for Dobbs this week, but I don't think so. Vikings are an easy pick as 3-point favorites.