3 bold predictions for Vikings vs. Bears in Week 15: Time to air it out

With a dominant 42-21 victory over Kirk Cousins and the Atlanta Falcons last Sunday, the Minnesota Vikings upped their winning streak to six and are very much alive in the race for the NFC North and the race for the No. 1 overall seed in the conference.

The fourth of those six straight wins, of course, came against the Chicago Bears in Week 12, a game which Kevin O'Connell & Co. nearly gave away.

Down 11 with less than two minutes remaining in regulation, the Bears miraculously tied the game as time expired to force overtime.

Luckily for the Vikings, the defense stepped up with a big stop on the opening possession of the extra frame, and Sam Darnold took over from there, completing six of six passes for 90 yards once Minnesota got the ball back to set up the 29-yard field goal from John Parker Romo that secured the 30-27 win.

The Vikings will welcome these same Bears to U.S. Bank Stadium on Monday night and are obviously hoping to avoid playing any extra football to earn a victory this time around. Here are a few predictions for Minnesota in their Week 15 matchup with Chicago.

Sam Darnold will continue to be turnover-free and will throw for 300 yards for the third time in four weeks

Darnold has been on an absolute tear lately and is coming off the best individual performance of his career, completing 22 of 28 passes against the Falcons for a career-high 347 yards with a career-best five touchdown passes.

Over his last four games, the seventh-year signal-caller has connected on 68.0 percent of his passes, throwing for 1,158 yards with 11 touchdowns. Perhaps just as importantly, he's been interception-free over the last four weeks. And we're calling for that pick-free streak to continue against the Bears.

We're also predicting that Darnold will hit the 300-yard mark for the third time in four weeks. In addition to his 347-yard effort against Atlanta, he threw for a then-season-high 330 against Chicago three weeks ago. Yes, he needed the overtime period to get there, but that won't be the case on Monday night.

Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison will once again have at least 100 receiving yards each

This past Sunday against the Falcons, Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison became the first duo in Vikings history with at least 100 receiving yards and two touchdowns each in the same game, a remarkable accomplishment that not even Cris Carter and Randy Moss ever achieved.

Addison led the way with eight catches for 133 yards and three touchdowns, while Jefferson recorded seven receptions for 132 yards with a pair of scores.

While Jefferson struggled against the Bears three weeks ago, catching just two balls for a season-low 27 yards, Addison thrived with eight receptions for a career-high 162 yards with a touchdown.

We're calling for a bit more balance this time around as we predict that both Jefferson and Addison will hit the century mark for the second straight week. Reaching the five combined touchdowns might be a bit of a stretch, but this dynamic duo will account for at least a pair.

The Vikings' defense will end Caleb Williams' historic interception-free streak

While the Bears come into this matchup having taken seven straight defeats, rookie quarterback Caleb Williams has played solid stretches of football and hasn't thrown a single interception during the losing streak.

In fact, the last time the No. 1 overall pick threw an interception was during Chicago's Week 6 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars in London. Since then, Williams has thrown 255 passes without an interception, which is the longest streak by a rookie quarterback in NFL history and also the longest streak for any Bears quarterback ever.

But this historic streak will come to an end on Monday night. The Vikings lead the league in picks with 20 and have recorded at least one in 11 of their 13 games this season.

Obviously, one of the games in which they failed to do was against Chicago, as Williams completed 32 of 47 passes for 340 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions against Minnesota in Week 12. But he won't escape the Vikings' ballhawks this time.