Chicago Bears at Buffalo Bills Odds

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The Chicago Bears jumped out to a quick 4-1 start, but they have since come back down to earth with back-to-back losses. However, off a bye week, Chicago is confident it can bounce back against 0-7 Buffalo. NFL odds makers have listed the Bears as a 3-point favorite with the total set at 40.5.

The Bills gave AFC West-leading Kansas City all it wanted and more last week, but they ultimately fell in overtime. The Bills have lost each their last two games by just three points.

Buffalo will have an excellent opportunity to pick up its first win of the season if Chicago doesn’t play any better than it did in its latest loss to Washington. In that game, the Bears committed six turnovers. Five of those turnovers (4 INTs, 1 fumble) were on quarterback Jay Cutler.

While the Chicago offense must clean it up, the defense figures to do its part to give the Bears a chance to win. Chicago has given up 17 or fewer points in five of its seven games. Overall, it ranks third in the league in scoring defense, allowing just 16.3 points per game. The Bears rank sixth in total defense, allowing only 305.6 yards per game. They have been extremely tough against the run as well, giving up just 89.3 yards per game (5th in the NFL).

The Chicago defense also ranks among the best in the league in takeaways (17) and third down defense (29.6 percent).

The addition of Julius Peppers and a healthy Brian Urlacher have helped restore Chicago’s defensive unit.

A Buffalo Bills offense averaging just 299.6 yards per game (26th in the NFL) figures to have its work cut out for itself against this stingy Chicago defense.

It is worth noting that road favorites playing with two or more weeks of rest are 36-13 against the spread the last 10 seasons, including 7-1 against the number the last three seasons.

While the Bills have been showing steady improvement over the last two weeks, they’ll have to overcome their north of the border woes if they are going to get off the snide. This is the third year of Buffalo’s five-year deal playing a game in Canada. So far, it is 0-2 with losses to Miami and the New York Jets.

Buffalo has been plagued by a run defense that ranks last in the league, yielding 188.7 yards per game on the ground. The Chiefs racked up 274 rushing yards on the Bills in last week’s loss. However, Chicago’s lack of commitment to the running game could do the Bills a huge favor.

When Cutler was out with a concussion, Chicago ran the ball 42 times for 218 yards in a win at Carolina.  With Cutler back under center, the Bears have only ran the ball a total of 30 times for 127 yards the last two weeks – back-to-back losses.

Chicago ranks among the worst running teams in the NFL (26th), averaging only 88.6 yards per game.

Offensively, it will likely take a strong game from quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick for Buffalo to find the win column, considering how good the Bears have been against the run.  Fitzpatrick has come on strong the last two weeks, throwing for 597 yards with five touchdowns and three interceptions.

It is worth noting that underdogs (or picks) after seven or more consecutive defeats, after the first month of the season, are an impressive 74-34 against the spread since 1983.

About the Author: Jimmy Boyd is known for his consistency. He's a proven winner in college and pro football, college and pro basketball and pro baseball. He finished as the No. 1 ranked MLB handicapper in 2007 by earning $1,000/game bettors $50,050. He also finished as the No. 1 ranked basketball handicapper in the 2008-09 season, profiting $1,000/game bettors 38,530. His basketball plays have banked $1,000/game bettors nearly $80,000 the last five years. Check out Jimmy's premium picks for tonight!
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