The Chicago Bears have been struggling to find traction all season long but finally have shown signs of life. They’ve won three straight games SU and four of their last five though they still have the NFL’s worst record against the spread at 4-9 ATS. The Bears have failed to cover 6 of their last 8 games but they’ve got a decent shot at getting the money as they head to Lambeau Field to take on the Green Bay Packers.
The Packers have had a solid season at 10-3 SU/8-5 ATS and this will be their final home game of the 2019 NFL regular season as they’ll finish out the year with road contests at Detroit and Minnesota. The game at Minnesota could end up determining the winner of the NFC North as the Vikings are just one game back of Green Bay at 9-4. Minnesota has yet to lose at home this season making next week’s contest a serious ‘lookahead spot’ for the Packers.
The biggest improvement for Chicago of late has been on offense. The much maligned Mitchell Trubisky has been playing well in his most recent games with a total of 7 touchdowns during the Bears winning streak. David Montgomery is finally playing up to his ability at the running back position and combined with the Bears solid defense that translates into victories. Chicago is still a longshot to make the playoffs but they’re at least back on the winning side of the .500 mark at 7-6.
Green Bay started the year with the media fawning over what was supposed to be an improved defense. Not so much. The Packers are now #22 in total defense and #25 in rushing defense which leaves them vulnerable to the Bears rushing attack. That should also open up some play action opportunities for Trubisky. The Packers offense has also stagnated of late. Green Bay has not fared well when stepping up in class during the second half of the season. They did have a nice win at Kansas City but otherwise their second half wins have come over bottom feeders like Oakland, Washington and the New York Giants.
Chicago is a very underrated team and they outplayed Green Bay when the teams met to start the season. At the time, the Bears’ offense wasn’t doing anything and that allowed the Packers to get the victory. That’s no longer the case and with the Packers likely looking ahead to the Minnesota game next week they’re ripe for the picking here.
