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Monday Night Football Preview – Chicago Bears vs. Detroit Lions
Point spread: Detroit Lions -5.5
Money Line: Chicago Bears +200, Detroit Lions -240
Over/Under: 47.5
This week, Monday Night Football offers up a classic black and blue tilt in the NFC North when the Chicago Bears square-off against the undefeated Detroit Lions at Ford Field. The kick-off for this one is slated for 8:30 p.m. (ET) and the game will be broadcast nationally on ESPN.
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Chicago has battled its way to a 2-2 straight-up start (1-3 against the spread) in what would never be described as the prettiest football. It hammered Atlanta 30-12 as a one-point home underdog on opening day, but looked horrible in a 30-13 loss to New Orleans as a 4.5-point road underdog the following week. Last Sunday, the Bears had to claw their way to a 34-29 victory over Carolina as seven-point home favorites. The total has been split 2-2 in the four games.
It is no real surprise that Chicago’s offense has struggled so far as this is just an extension of last year’s play, but what has been really hard to understand is the play of its normally stout defense. This unit is ranked second-to-last in the NFL in total yards allowed; giving up an average of 425.8 yards a game. It is tied for 20th in points allowed; giving up an average of 24.5 points a game.
Detroit’s 4-0 SU start (3-0-1 ATS) has been the big story through the quarter-pole of the regular season. It has already posted two dramatic come-from-behind victories over Minnesota and Dallas and is ranked second in the league in scoring with an average of 33.8 point a game.
A healthy Matthew Stafford has thrown for 1,217 yards and 11 touchdowns and his numbers have been greatly aided by Calvin Johnson’s 24 catches for 321 yards and he has been on the receiving end of eight of those touchdown throws. The only kink in the armor has been a running game that is ranked 29th with an average of just 74.5 yards a game.
The Bears are 4-10-1 ATS in their last 15 games as road underdogs and the total has stayed ‘under’ in six of their last eight games on the road.
The Lions are an impressive 8-0-1 ATS in their last nine games overall and the total has gone ‘over’ in nine of their last 11 home games.
Head-to-head in this series, the road team is 5-2 ATS in the last seven meetings and the underdog is 10-4 ATS in the last 14 games. These trends hold true this time around as well as Chicago keeps things close enough to cover with the 5.5 points in this heated rivalry.
The odds makers have the Detroit Lions as a -5.5 point favorite with an over/under of 47.5.
The Pick: Detroit 23 Chicago 20
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