Washington Redskins at Chicago Bears Odds

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The 4-2 Chicago Bears are sitting atop the NFC North, but they won’t be for much longer if they continue to play like they did last week. One week after running the football 42 times for 218 yards in a 23-6 win at Carolina, the Bears only ran the ball 14 times for 61 yards in a 23-20 loss to Seattle.

Perhaps offensive coordinator Mike Martz will wise up and run the football against the NFL’s worst defense.

The Washington Redskins rank dead last in total defense, giving up 420 yards per game. They rank 24th in the league against the run, surrendering 121.8 yards per game on the ground.

The Redskins gave up 469 total yards to Indianapolis in a 27-24 loss last week. In that game, Indy racked up 170 rushing yards on 5.9 yards per carry.

Both teams are looking to get back in the win column Sunday, but NFL odds makers are giving the edge to the home team. They have listed the Bears as a 3-point favorite with the total set at 40.

The defense has carried the Bears this season. They rank eighth in the league in total defense, giving up 304.8 yards per game, and third in scoring defense, allowing 16.2 points per contest. Chicago has especially been stingy against the run, boasting the third-best run-stuffing unit in the NFL (84.0).

The defense has also been very successful at forcing turnovers. They already have 14 takeaways this season.

But the defense wasn’t quite up to snuff last week. Seattle racked up 353 yards of offense, and Chicago wasn’t able to force a turnover for the first time this season.

The Chicago defense has been most vulnerable through the air, giving up 220.8 passing yards per game (18th in the NFL), and veteran quarterback Matt Hasselbeck was able to take advantage. The Chicago defense will face another tough challenge with veteran quarterback Donovan McNabb coming to town this week.

Offensively, Chicago must do a better job of protecting the quarterback. The Seahawks sacked Jay Cutler six times in his return from a concussion. But I’m not going to put all the blame on the line.

When over 70 percent of the play calls are passes, it makes it a lot easier for opposing defenses to rush the quarterback. Running back Matt Forte is healthy and having a good season. The Bears better mix in a few more runs to Forte this week or they could see their lead in the North evaporate in a hurry.

It is worth noting that the the Redskins have come out on the short end of the stick a lot more times than not when in the small dog role recently. In fact, the Redskins are 1-6-6 against the spread in their last 13 games as an underdog of 3.0 points or less.

While the Washington defense must play better to get back in the win column this week, McNabb also needs to start playing like the six-time Pro Bowler that he is. McNabb threw two interceptions against the Colts last week, and now has as many interceptions (5) as touchdown passes.

Heading into this season, McNabb had a career touchdown to interceptions ratio of 2.3 to 1. The Skins desperately need him to play better if they are going to have any kind of shot at the postseason.

Washington has won three in a row and six of its last eight against the Bears.

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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