Bears Packers Spread

Written by Jack Jones

The two biggest rivals in the National Football Leagues square off Sunday when the Green Bay Packers host the Chicago Bears. This is the only game that will be played on Christmas Day, giving both teams the spotlight. While this game has lost some of its luster with both teams losing last week, there is certainly no love lost in this rivalry.

These teams have met 183 times since 1921, and Chicago holds the all-time edge 92-85-6. However, the Packers have won three straight in this series, including a 27-17 road victory on September 25th. Aaron Rodgers is 6-2 lifetime against the Bears, and he led the way with 297 passing yards and three touchdowns in their first meeting.

Oddsmakers have installed a line of Green Bay -13 over Chicago and a total set of 44 points for the rematch Sunday.

Green Bay

The Packers were on the verge of making NFL history before a shocking 19-14 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs last week. They came into the game as a two-touchdown favorite, and left hanging their heads. Green Bay (13-1, 6-0 home) still owns the best record in the NFL and they can clinch the No. 1 seed in the NFC with a win Sunday. They would love to go ahead and get that out of the way so they can rest some players as the injuries are starting to pile up.

In their loss to the Chiefs, the Packers were simply not themselves. They were held to just 315 total yards offensively as Rodgers went 17 of 35 passing for 235 yards with a touchdown. Kansas City moved the ball at will on their defense, compiling 438 total yards and 23 first downs. The Packers were lucky to even be in the game because the Chiefs had to settle for four straight Ryan Succop field goals before finally getting in the end zone on a Jackie Battle 1-yard run with 4:53 to play.

The loss put an end to a 19-game winning streak for Green Bay that dated back to a setback at New England on December 19th, 2010. The Packers have more important issues to be concerned with going forward. They will be without top receiver Greg Jennings and likely right tackle Bryan Bulaga, who are each nursing knee injuries. RB James Starks could return from an ankle sprain this week, but LB Desmond Bishop, DE Ryan Pickett, and T Chad Clifton are all doubtful with various injuries.

Chicago

The Bears appeared well on their way to making the playoffs a month ago. Chicago (7-7, 2-4 away) had won five straight games to put themselves in a commanding position as a wild card team. However, the Bears would go on to lose four straight, including a 38-14 home victory to the Seattle Seahawks last weekend. That came after three straight heartbreaking losses by a combined 15 points. This team has lost every game since Jay Cutler went down with thumb injury.

Backup quarterback Caleb Hanie continued to struggle against the Seahawks last week. He went 10 of 23 passing for 111 yards with one touchdown and three interceptions. Hanie was eventually replaced by Josh McCown late, who came in and threw another interception. Seattle took two picks back for touchdowns in the second half, turning what was a 7-point Chicago lead at halftime into a Seattle blowout after intermission. The Seahawks scored 31 unanswered points after the break.

Chicago will be trusting their slim playoff hopes with McCown this week after the Hanie experiment clearly did not work. They need either Atlanta or Detroit to lose out, while also getting some help to make the playoffs. The Bears have averaged 11.8 points over the last four weeks. Hanie posted a 41.8 passer rating with nine touchdowns and three interceptions during this span, so it cannot possibly get any worse with McCown under center. Not making matters easier on McCown is the fact that star running back Matt Forte will miss a third straight game with a knee injury, and receiver Johnny Knox is out for the season with a back injury.

Betting Trends

The Packers are 8-0 ATS in their last 8 games following a ATS loss, and 15-5-1 ATS in their last 21 home games.

The Bears are 5-1 ATS in their last 6 games as an underdog of 10.5 or greater, but just 1-4 ATS in their last 5 games following a double-digit home loss.

Comments

Got something to say?