NFL Football Odds: New England Patriots at Chicago Bears

Added on Dec 10, 2010 by Jack Thurman in

NFL

Fresh off a dominating victory over the New York Jets to take over sole possession of the AFC East lead the New England Patriots head to Soldier Field to take on the surprising Chicago Bears. Not much was expected of the Bears this season but they’ve won five straight en route to a 9-3 record and the NFC North lead.

New England Patriots at Chicago Bears
December 12, 2010 1:15 PM Pacific

Tom Brady is playing at a ridiculously high level and the Pats are tied with Atlanta for the best record in the NFL at 10-2. Chicago’s Jay Cutler may not have the ‘big game’ pedigree of Brady, but when he’s not being pressured by an intense pass rush he can do a fair job ripping up a secondary himself. He may be able to do surprisingly well against a Patriots’ pass coverage that despite the team’s overall success ranks #31 in the NFL. Hard to argue with Brady’s play of late–a 27 to 4 TD to interception ratio ain’t too shabby–but the Bears have only allowed 9 TD passes this season. Cutler has been very sharp during the Bears’ 5 game winning streak, and he’s got a 10-3 TD to INT ratio in his last five games.

Ultimately, however, we’re of the opinion that the Bears are undervalued in this matchup due to the Patriots popularity with the ‘public’. Matchup aside, its a tough spot for them–they’re coming off a short week after playing a crucial game against their biggest divisional rival. The Bears won’t provide as much intrinsic motivation, and they’re too good of a team to take lightly. Patriots are a top notch team, but this could be a ‘flat spot’ similar to their road loss at Cleveland earlier this season. Bears are 6-1 ATS as an underdog this year and 5-2 ATS as a home dog of 3 or less since 2008. We’ll look for them to pull the outright upset and cash our ticket easily.

Bet Chicago Bears +3 over New England Patriots