NFL Betting Preview: Washington Redskins at Chicago Bears

Added on Oct 24, 2010 by Jack Thurman in

NFL

Big day of NFL betting action on Sunday and we’ll take a look at a game between the Washington Redskins and Chicago Bears. It’s been a year of transition in Washington with quarterback Donovan McNabb and coach Mike Shanahan in their first season. They’ve had some ups and downs and are 3-3. The Bears have been an up and down team, but are still leading the NFC North with a 4-2 record.

Washington Redskins at Chicago Bears
October 24, 2010 10:00 AM Pacific

The Redskins clearly upgraded their coaching staff with the move from overwhelmed Jim Zorn to the proven Mike Shanahan and although they’ve still got plenty of issues to work out they’ve been competitive in most weeks. A team’s pointspread record is a helpful metric for a variety of reasons, but one thing it often reflects is how competitive a team is on a week in/week out basis. Sometimes an improving team will show an upswing against the number long before it starts to translate to straight up wins and losses. So far in 2010, the Redskins are 3-1-2 ATS and we expect them to put up a tough effort here against a very erratic Chicago Bears team.

The Bears are 4-2 SU/3-3 ATS but none of their victories have been particularly impressive–they’ve beaten an overrated Green Bay team at home, a struggling Dallas and hapless Carolina on the road and opened their season with a surprisingly hard fought victory over the Detroit Lions at home. Their two losses have been downright ugly–a noncompetitive effort on the road against the New York Giants and a listless loss at home last week to a very beatable Seattle squad. In theory, Jay Cutler should be able to exploit a vulnerable Washington secondary but he’s been getting horrendous pass protection–he’s been sacked 15 times in his last two starts and the Bears have averaged 7 sacks against in their last four games. Chicago has been a horrible home favorite of late (6-13-1 ATS L20 home games) and Washington has dominated in head to head play–Skins 6-2 SU/ATS overall and 2-1 SU/3-0 ATS in Chicago. Bears may steal the outright win but the ‘skins will play tough.

Bet Washington Redskins +3 over Chicago Bears