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Chicago Bears at St. Louis Rams NFL Lines & Picks

Written by Jimmy Boyd

The Bears are hoping a date with the lowly Rams can help atone for their worst loss in more than five seasons. Chicago fell 37-3 at Green Bay last week to fall to 5-5 on the season. It was their worst defeat since getting mauled by San Francisco 49-7 in the 2003 season opener. Last week’s loss made things messy again in the NFC North with the Bears, Vikings, and Packers all tied for the top spot. Despite Chicago dropping two straight, odds makers remain confident that it will get the job done this week, listing the Bears as 8.5-point favorites with the total set at 43.

The Bears totaled a season-low 234 yards and scored its fewest points in more than a year. Bears starting QB Kyle Orton returned after missing a game-and-a-half with a severely sprained right ankle. He was 13 of 26 for 133 yards and caught a terrible break when a fumbled snap was returned for a touchdown. He was replaced by Rex Grossman in the fourth when the game was out of reach. The game did not resemble the way Orton had been playing prior to his injury with his 50 percent completion rate and his 133 yards passing coming in as his lowest marks of the season. Chicago will stick with him Sunday and they really don’t have much of a choice as backup Rex Grossman has not inspired much confidence in the Bears. The biggest surprise last week may have been kickoff return specialist Devin Hester getting replaced by Daniel Manning on kick returns in the fourth quarter. Hester has two kick returns for TDs in his only game against St. Louis in 2006 and he scored 11 return touchdowns through his first two seasons, but he hasn’t reached the end zone on a return this year. His 21.8 yard average on kick returns ranks 32nd in the league and his 6.3 ypg on punt returns ranks 21st after leading the NFC with a 15.5 average a season ago. Manning led the league in kick return average during the preseason and averaged 27.3 yards on three returns in last week’s game which was nearly five more than Hester did on five attempts. Perhaps the move will light a fire under Hester who has been frustrated up to this point by teams kicking away from him.

Defensively, the Bears have looked like the old Monster of the Midway against the run until last week. One week removed from holding the unbeaten Tennessee Titans to only 20 yards rushing, the Bears allowed Green Bay to rack up 200 yards on the dirt. Chicago will catch a break this week as the St. Louis running attack has been decimated by injury. The Rams will be missing Pro Bowl tackle Orlando Pace and Pro Bowl tailback Steven Jackson. If you like Chicago to get back in the win column and beat the number in the process, bet the Bears at -8.5 at BetUS and receive up to a 50% sign up bonus.

The injury-plagued Rams have now lost four in a row and have been blown out in each of their last three contests by a combined score of 116-32. Committing 11 turnovers has been a big part of their demise during this stretch. The Rams committed three turnovers last Sunday and trailed by 32 points at the half to the 49ers as a result. Former Pro Bowl QB Marc Bulger has missed his backside protection as he has really struggled of late, posting a 66.3 QB rating over the last four games. Bulger has had a lot of success against the Bears in his career though. He is 2-1 with seven touchdowns against four picks while throwing for 943 yards. Currently the Rams are last in the league with 317 points allowed and rank 30th in the NFL in total defense, but they may have a fighting chance at home against a Bears team which has been susceptible to the pass all season. If you think the books are giving St. Louis too many, bet the Rams at +8.5 at BetUS.

If the NFL lines are getting the best of you this season, it’s high time you gave Jimmy Boyd’s NFL picks a try. Do you NFL betting with Jimmy Boyd this week and give you bookie a hit he’ll never forget.

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