Bears vs. Lions Pick
Can the Detroit Lions keep their playoff hopes alive when they host the Chicago Bears today at 4:30PM ET?
According to oddsmakers at Bovada.lv, Detroit is favored at home in this game, as the Lions are getting odds of -5 points against Chicago. The over/under total for the contest has been set at 43.5 points. Detroit has won eight of its last nine meetings with Chicago, but the Bears are 4-1-1 against the spread in the last six encounters. The public betting in this game has 55 percent of the wagers going on the Lions at home. Today’s game takes place from Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan and will air live on the NFL Network.
Detroit ended a two-game losing streak last week in Tampa Bay with a 24-21 victory to improve to 7-6 on the season. The Lions are 6-6-1 against the spread this season, but just 1-2-1 ATS in their last four. The Lions are putting up 26 points per game on offense while averaging 361.5 yards per game. Matthew Stafford is dealing with a hand injury, but still has thrown for 3,683 yards and 23 touchdowns this season to go with nine interceptions. He has been sacked 39 times and the Lions have just 992 rushing yards as a team. Marvin Jones Jr. is the leading receiver with 51 catches for 885 yards and eight touchdowns. Defensively, the Lions are allowing 25.3 points and 375.9 yards per game. Turnovers have been key for the unit. They have 13 interceptions and 11 fumble recoveries. Darius Slay has five interceptions and 17 pass deflections.
Chicago is coming off a 33-7 win at Cincinnati last weekend to snap a five-game losing streak. The Bears are now 4-9 on the season. They are also 6-6-1 against the spread this year, but just 1-4-1 ATS in their last six. Chicago has struggled on offense this season, averaging just 17.2 points and 309.1 yards per game. Mitchell Trubisky has thrown for 1,508 yards with six touchdowns and four interceptions in his rookie year. He is coming off one of his best games, throwing for 271 yards and a TD against the Bengals. Jordan Howard is leading the offense with 1,032 rushing yards and seven touchdowns. The defense is giving up 25.3 points and 375.9 yards per game. Akiem Hicks is leading the unit with seven sacks.
The Bears gave the Lions a lot of problems in the first meeting this season, using the read-option to pick up a lot of rushing yards. With the Bears coming off their best performance of the season a week ago, I think their offense continues to look good against a Detroit defense that is weak up front. The Lions have struggled early and had to play from behind often, so I think that could be the case again today, making this a very close game.
NFL WEEK 15 PREDICTION: CHICAGO BEARS +5