NFL Football Betting |
The NFL offers up a late Christmas present when the Chicago Bears and the Green Bay Packers square-off this Sunday night at Lambeau Field in a classic NFC North showdown. The game is set to kick-off at 8:20 p.m. (ET) and it will be broadcast nationally on NBC.
It has been a rough few weeks for Chicago. First, it lost its quarterback Jay Cutler with a hand injury and then it lost its running game when Matt Forte went down with a knee injury. The result has been a four-game slide that has put its playoff chances on life support. The Bears are 7-7 both straight-up and against the spread and the total has gone ‘over’ in eight of their 14 games.
Chicago will once again go with Caleb Hanie as its starting quarterback, but unless the Bears are blessed with a Christmas miracle, they are going to have to rely on their defense to win this game. The numbers speak for themselves. Hanie has only thrown three touchdowns verse nine interceptions while completing just 50 percent of his passes in four previous starts.
Green Bay is still shaking its head over last Sunday’s 19-14 loss to Kansas City as an 11-point road favorite that ended a 19-game winning streak that dated back to Week 16 of last season. It still has firm control of the No.1 seed in the NFC, but needs a win on Sunday night to actually lock it up. The Packers are 13-1 SU and 9-5 ATS. The total has gone ‘over’ in nine of their 14 games.
The biggest concern for this team heading into this game other than getting a W is getting out of it with no more significant injuries. The Packers have already lost their best receiver, Greg Jennings and a couple of key pieces of their offensive line over the past few weeks.
Chicago is 1-3 ATS in its last four games and 3-3 ATS in its last six games on the road. The total has gone ‘over’ in five of its last seven games overall
Green Bay is 2-3 ATS in its last five games, but 5-1 ATS in six home games this season. The total has gone ‘over’ in six of its last eight games overall and in five of its six games at home.
The Packers won the first meeting this season on Sept.25 with 27-17 victory as four-point road favorites. They have now won four of the last five meetings SU and are 5-2 ATS in the last seven meetings. The total has stayed ‘under’ in the last seven games between the two.
This is Chicago’s last chance to stay in the playoff picture and while it will not win the game in Lambeau, it will do enough to cover with the 13 points.
The Free NFL Pick: Green Bay 27 Chicago 20
