Jaguars vs. Bears Prediction
Will the Chicago Bears and Jacksonville Jaguars struggle to hit a lofty over when they meet up today at 1PM ET?
According to the oddsmakers at BetDSI, the Bears are favored at home in this game, as they are getting odds of -1 point against the Jaguars. The over/under total for the contest is listed at 46 points. Chicago has won four of six all-time matchups with Jacksonville, and the two are 4-2 with the over in those six meetings.
Chicago has been playing well the last few weeks despite just a 1-4 record. The Bears are coming off a 29-23 loss at Indy but gave the Colts all they could handle. Chicago is now 3-2 with the over. The key to the recently strong play seems to be Brian Hoyer taking over under center over the last few games. Hoyer has thrown for over 300 yards in the last three games and has six interceptions with no interceptions. Along with the surge from Hoyer, the team has also gotten a nice boost from Jordan Howard in the backfield. He has run for 296 yards since replacing the injured Jeremy Langford. Chicago still needs to improve on defense, as they Bears are giving up 25.2 points and 359.2 yards per game this season.
Jacksonville is coming off the bye, but the Jags picked up their first win two weeks ago in London over the Colts to move to 1-3 on the season. Jacksonville is 3-1 with the over this season as well. The Jaguars are somehow giving up 27.8 points per game this season despite allowing only 322.5 yards per game. A lot of that likely is due to turnovers on the offensive end. Blake Bortles has six interceptions in four games. That goes with 1,050 passing yards and seven touchdowns. He leads an offense that is averaging 21 points and 337.8 yards per game. Bortles is forced to throw a lot because Jacksonville ranks last in the NFL in rushing at just 301 yards for the season. Both T.J. Yeldon and Chris Ivory are being held under 3.5 yards per carry.
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The total has been set pretty high for this game, but I think both defensive units are better than what oddsmakers are giving them credit for. Chicago struggled early with Jay Cutler turning the ball over and taking sacks. Hoyer has been a much better game manager and has been keeping the Chicago D off the field. Jacksonville is in a similar spot, where its defense has been hampered by offensive turnovers. Look for less turnovers in this game and fewer points because of that. This game should be around the 21-21 range.
NFL WEEK 6 PREDICTION: JAGUARS/BEARS UNDER 46