Ben Goessling's Vikings-Bears preview and prediction: Who wins and why?

When: Noon Sunday, Soldier Field

TV, radio: Ch. 9, 100.3-FM

Line: Vikings by 7½

No. 2 or No. 3?: At 12-4, the Vikings are tied for the second-best record in the NFC, but they'd lose tiebreakers to the 49ers for the No. 2 seed if both teams win on Sunday. They'll play at noon; the 49ers play at 3:25. To claim the second seed, and assure they'd be at home in the divisional round with a wild-card round win, the Vikings would need to beat the Bears and the Cardinals would have to beat the 49ers.

Peterman starts for Bears: Chicago (3-13), loser of nine in a row, will sit quarterback Justin Fields in its season finale with a hip injury. Nathan Peterman will play instead for the Bears, who still have a chance to end up with the No. 1 overall pick if they lose and the Texans win. Peterman will make his first start since 2018, when he started two games for the Bills.

Test run for new line: The Vikings will have Chris Reed at center and Oli Udoh at right tackle, with Garrett Bradbury still out because of a back injury and Brian O'Neill done for the season because of a calf injury and partially torn Achilles. For the Vikings to survive in the playoffs, they'll need the group to protect Kirk Cousins and open space for Dalvin Cook; they'll get a dress rehearsal of sorts against a weak Bears pass rush.

Vikings WR Justin Jefferson vs. Bears CB Jaylon Jones: Jefferson caught 12 passes for 154 yards in the Vikings' October win over the Bears; four of them came against Jones, who made one of his four starts this season in that game. However long the Vikings keep him in the game, Jefferson figures to see Jones frequently when he's split wide.

Vikings OLB Danielle Hunter vs. Bears T Riley Reiff: When Hunter and Reiff were teammates in Minnesota, they would have only faced one another occasionally in practice, since Hunter lined up opposite the right tackle and Reiff was on the left side. Reiff is starting at right tackle for the Bears, meaning he'll have matchups with Hunter during the game.

9.2: The percentage of Peterman's passes that have been intercepted in the NFL. Peterman has attempted 141 passes; he's thrown 13 interceptions against three touchdowns in that time.

They build an early lead that stamps out whatever motivation the Bears have to make the game competitive, and benefit from the turnovers Peterman has been prone to give up throughout his NFL career. If the Vikings can get a strong start to shake off their blowout loss to the Packers last week, they could look to limit starters' snap counts and give more time to younger players before the playoffs.

The Vikings either rest enough starters to signify they're not concerned with the final outcome of the game, or they make a catastrophic series of mistakes in the final game before the playoffs. Peterman has been error-prone enough in the NFL that the Vikings would seemingly have to do plenty to lose this one.

Whether or not the Vikings give their starters a full day's worth of playing time, they should have enough incentive and wherewithal to beat a Bears team that could end up drafting first overall. Perhaps Matt Eberflus will be able to coax a representative effort out of his players in the final game of the regular season, but the Vikings should cruise in this one. Vikings 27, Bears 14