CHICAGO (2 - 2) at DETROIT (4 - 0)
Top Trends for this game.
DETROIT is 15-3 ATS (+11.7 Units) in all games over the last 2 seasons.
DETROIT is 15-3 ATS (+11.7 Units) in all lined games over the last 2 seasons.
DETROIT is 8-1 ATS (+6.9 Units) in home games over the last 2 seasons.
DETROIT is 8-1 ATS (+6.9 Units) in home lined games over the last 2 seasons.
DETROIT is 13-2 ATS (+10.8 Units) in all games where the total is between 42.5 and 49 points over the last 2 seasons.
DETROIT is 12-2 ATS (+9.8 Units) against conference opponents over the last 2 seasons.
DETROIT is 8-1 ATS (+6.9 Units) in home games in dome games over the last 2 seasons.
DETROIT is 8-1 ATS (+6.9 Units) in home games in games played on turf over the last 2 seasons.
Head-to-Head Series History
DETROIT is 2-2 against the spread versus CHICAGO over the last 3 seasons
CHICAGO is 4-0 straight up against DETROIT over the last 3 seasons
3 of 4 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons
CHICAGO vs. DETROIT
Chicago is 5-2 SU in its last 7 games on the road
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Chicago's last 8 games on the road
Detroit is 0-5 SU in its last 5 games when playing Chicago
Detroit is 7-18 SU in its last 25 games at home
CHICAGO at DETROIT
CHICAGO: 14-28 ATS after scoring 30+ points
DETROIT: 8-1 ATS in home games
MNF - Bears at Lions
By Kevin Rogers
Week 5 of the NFL wraps up in the Motor City with the league's most-talked about team this season sitting under the Monday night spotlight. The 4-0 Lions host the 2-2 Bears in an NFC North showdown in front of a national audience as Detroit looks to keep up its momentum from a successful first month of the season.
Jim Schwartz's club grabbed a pair of convincing wins over the Buccaneers and Chiefs to start the season at 2-0, but the next two weeks showed that the Lions were for real. Detroit rallied from a 20-0 deficit at Minnesota to shock the Vikings, 23-20 in overtime, even though the Lions failed to cover as 3½-point favorites. The Lions followed up that comeback with a tremendous encore performance in Dallas by climbing out of a 27-3 hole to shock the Cowboys, 34-30 as short road underdogs.
The offense, led by Matthew Stafford and Calvin Johnson, has been the power behind Detroit's success through four weeks. However, it was the Lions' defense that kept them unbeaten with a pair of interception returns for touchdowns against Tony Romo and the Cowboys to cut Dallas' lead to 10 points. The rally was finished off by a Stafford-to-Johnson touchdown strike in the final two minutes, the eighth time this season the former top-three picks have hooked up for a score.
Now, the Lions play their second divisional game of the season against a Bears' squad that staved off Carolina, 34-30 last Sunday at Soldier Field. Chicago almost cashed as seven-point favorites, but a late Cam Newton touchdown pass gave Carolina the backdoor cover, dropping the Bears to 1-3 ATS. The Bears haven't outgained any of their four opponents from a yardage standpoint yet, while ranking 20th in the league on the ground (96.3 yards/game). That number improved significantly after Matt Forte rushed for a career-best 205 yards against Carolina, one week after racking up a measly two yards on nine carries in a loss to Green Bay.
The Bears swept the season series from the Lions in 2010 for the third consecutive year, but it didn't come easy. Chicago held off Detroit in the season opener last year, 19-14, as the Lions cashed as 6½-point road underdogs. That game received plenty of headlines with the controversial Johnson touchdown that was eventually overturned because he did not "complete the catch." The Lions covered in the second meeting at Ford Field, a 24-20 loss as five-point underdogs in December. Jay Cutler threw a late touchdown pass to give the Bears the lead, as that would be the final loss by Detroit before four straight wins to close out the season.
The Lions are playing their first Monday night game at Ford Field since it opened in 2002, while being featured in this spot for the first time since a 56-21 drubbing at Philadelphia in 2007. In fact, Detroit was destroyed in its previous Monday night home contest at the Silverdome in 2001, 35-0 whipping at the hands of St. Louis as 13½-point underdogs.
Chicago has played well on Monday night the last three seasons with a 4-0 SU/ATS record, all coming against division opponents. The Bears knocked off the Packers as home underdogs in Week 3, while dominating the beat-up Vikings on the campus of University of Minnesota last December.
Detroit is a perfect 4-0 to the 'over' this season, while going 7-2 to the 'over' the last nine games at Ford Field since the start of 2010. The Bears have seen the 'under' hit in five of the previous eight road games, while hitting the 'over' in their only away contest this season at New Orleans.
The Lions are listed as a five-point favorite across the board, while the total is set at 47. The game kicks off at 8:30 PM EST from Ford Field and will be televised nationally on ESPN.
Week 5 Openers
By Kevin Rogers
Bears at Lions
July opener: Detroit -1
Sunday opener: Detroit -6
The Lions are turning heads week in and week out after another impressive comeback win on the road. Detroit overcame a 27-3 deficit at Dallas, thanks to a pair of interception returns for touchdowns to spark the rally. The Lions improved to 4-0 for the first time since 1980, as Detroit welcomes in rival Chicago to Ford Field to close out Week 5.
The Bears failed to cover in a five-point home victory over the Panthers, but Chicago managed to sneak back to the .500 mark to remain two games behind Green Bay and Detroit in the NFC North. Chicago has beaten Detroit six straight times, while taking five of the previous six meetings at Ford Field. Those numbers don't seem as important with Detroit's rapid improvement on both sides of the ball, while the Lions are now 4-0 SU/ATS the last four times as a home favorite.
NFL Poolies' Cheat Sheet: Week 5 Betting Notes
By Colin Kelly
Chicago Bears at Detroit Lions (-5.5)
Why Bears cover: They seem to shine under Monday night spotlight, at 5-1 ATS in last six appearances. And Detroit lacks that experience, playing first MNF game in 10 years.
Why Lions cover: If they were due for letdown, it was last week at Dallas. And they did let down for a half, before huge comeback win. Detroit favored for first time in years in this NFC North rivalry, and Jim Schwartz’s troops want whole nation to see they’re no fluke. Lions among best bets in league, with ATS streaks of 16-5-2 overall, 9-1-1 after SU win and 12-2-2 after spread-cover.
Total (47.5): Bears tend to play to under, while Lions play to over. But when these rivals meet, over 4-1 last five overall and 4-1 last five at Ford Field. Detroit’s QB-wideout connection of Matt Stafford-Calvin Johnson looks unstoppable.
NFL Week 5
Bears (2-2) @ Lions (4-0) - First Monday Night Football home game in decade for Motor City, which is fired up over Lions’ 4-0 start. Upstart Detroit won last eight games that counted, despite trailing 20-0/20-3 at half of last two games; they’ve outscored last three opponents 85-13 in second half, with defense sparking rally with two TDs of its own in Dallas last week, but they’ve lost six in row, 10 of last 12 to Bears, with three of last five setbacks by 5 or less points. Chicago won five of last six visits here; their shaky OL (allowed 15 sacks) could have trouble with crowd noise in dome. Bears ran ball 31 times for 224 yards last week, after running it total of 51 times for 161 yards in first three games. Detroit allowed average of 132 rushing yards in last three games. Average total in last five series games is 43.2- all four Detroit games this season went over total.
Bears at Lions: What Bettors Need to Know
Chicago Bears at Detroit Lions (-5, 47.5)
THE STORY: Even though Hank Williams Jr. is no longer asking, the Detroit Lions have answered the question: Yes, they are ready for some football. Detroit gets its chance to convince a national television audience that it is worthy of playing under the bright lights when it hosts the Chicago Bears on Monday Night Football. One of two unbeaten teams left in the NFL – along with division rival Green Bay – the Lions will have to conquer a major nemesis to keep their perfect run going, having dropping six consecutive games to the Bears. Chicago already trails Detroit and Green Bay by two games as it attempts to defend its NFC North title.
ABOUT THE BEARS (2-2): After facing three straight playoff teams from 2010 to open the season, Chicago got back to .500 by outscoring the Carolina Panthers 34-29 a week ago. It wasn’t an aesthetically pleasing performance by the Bears, who needed an interception return (D.J. Moore) and punt return (Devin Hester) for TDs and were gashed for 543 total yards by No. 1 pick Cam Newton and Co. On the plus side, QB Jay Cutler (4-0 vs. Detroit) only attempted 17 passes as the Bears force-fed the ball to RB Matt Forte, who responded with a career-high 205 yards rushing one week after he was held to a career-low two.
ABOUT THE LIONS (4-0): Detroit stormed back from a 27-3 third-quarter deficit on the road to stun Dallas 34-30 last week and improve to 4-0 for the first time since 1980. Matt Stafford threw two fourth-quarter TD passes to Calvin Johnson as the Lions became the first team in league history to win back-to-back games after rallying from deficits of at least 20 points. Detroit has won eight straight games – the longest active streak in the league – and a franchise-record five straight on the road. Bobby Carpenter and Chris Houston each had interception returns for TDs. DT Nick Fairley, Detroit’s first-round pick, could make his season debut Monday.
EXTRA POINTS:
1. Detroit’s Johnson leads the league with eight TDs and is the first player to catch two scoring passes in each of his first four games.
2. Hester’s 69-yard punt return was the 11th of his career, moving him past Eric Metcalf for first place on the all-time list.
3. It seems appropriate that Detroit’s first appearance since 2001 on Monday Night Football comes against Chicago, which was the last team to beat the Lions and owns 93 victories against them – the most the Bears have against any opponent.
TRENDS:
The Bears are 4-10-1 against the spread (ATS) in their last 15 games as road underdogs and 1-4 ATS in their last five games overall.
The ATS trends are all good for the Lions. Detroit is 4-0 in its last four home games, 4-0-1 in its last five games as a favorite and 16-5-2 in its last 23 games overall, all against the spread.
The under is 44-18-2 in the Bears' last 64 games as underdogs, while the over is 9-2 in the Lions' last 11 home games.
LINE MOVEMENT
There's been a slight adjustment to the spread. Some offshore shops opened with the Lions favored by as much as 6 but the majority of sportsbooks list the Lions as 5-point chalk.
Not much movement on the total either. The over/under line was as high as 48 but sits between 47.5 and 47 as of Sunday afternoon.
PREDICTION: Lions 24, Bears 13. Detroit, fueled by a raucous home crowd in prime time, rides the Stafford-to-Johnson connection to stay perfect on the season.