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The NFC North leaders Chicago Bears will face the Detroit Lions in a Thanksgiving Day showdown at Ford Field in Detroit.
These two squads have the longest running annual series in the league with their first meeting dating back to 1930. The Bears are coming off a 25-20 win over the Minnesota Vikings while the Lions were able to grind out a 20-19 triumph over the Carolina Panthers in their last game.
Defense Leading The Way
The Chicago Bears are riding high on a four game winning streak and have had a grip on the lead in the NFC North division with their defense leading the way. Chicago arguably has the best defensive unit in the NFL and are currently ranked 3rd in yards allowed per game at 314.4 yards and 4th in scoring defense at 19.5 points per game allowed.
Chicago Bears vs Detroit Lions 11/22/18
Moneyline Odds: Bears -216, Lions +186
Odds from sportsbetting.ag as of 11/20/18
An Up And Down Season
Matt Patricia’s first season as head coach hasn’t gone according to plan as the Detroit Lions are having and up and down season. The Lions quickly dropped from the playoff hunt after losing six of their first nine games. But a 20-19 win over the Carolina Panthers last Sunday kept their slim chances alive. The Lions hope to build on that win with a victory over the Bears.
Matthew Stafford has thrown for a total of 2,605 yards with 17 touchdowns and 8 interceptions while completing 66.3% of his passes. Rookie running back Kerryon Johnson has ran for 641 yards on the ground with three scores while Kenny Golladay has 714 receiving yards with five touchdowns.
Who Wins?
Chicago is 4-1 SU in their last 5 games played and 2-2 SU on the road this season. Meanwhile, Detroit is 2-3 SU in their last 5 games played and 5-2 SU in their last 7 games at home. Head to head, the Lions are 9-2 SU in their last 11 games played against the Bears and 5-0 SU in their last 5 games against Chicago when playing in Detroit. This is the second game between these teams this season. Chicago beat Detroit 34-22 just 12 days ago in Soldier Field.
Another issue with Chicago is quarterback Mitchell Trubisky who was listed as day to day (as of Tuesday afternoon) with a right shoulder injury and did not practice on Monday. However, the Bears are cautiously optimistic that he can suit up for this game.
As for Detroit, they have played well against the Bears at home but they have not played very well on the Thanksgiving holiday, going 37-39-2 SU overall. Meanwhile, the Bears are 17-15-2 when playing on Thanksgiving.
The Detroit offense is limited and now they are going to face one of the league’s best defenses and will be doing so on short notice. Also, Chicago’s offense has been doing well lately so
I don’t have any reservations in laying the chalk here, that is if Trubisky is playing in this game. I’m going with the Bears to win by at least a touchdown. We’re picking the Chicago Bears to beat the Detroit Lions on 11/22/18.
Other Bets To Make
The Bears are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games played and 2-2 ATS in their four road games played this season. The Lions are 6-3 ATS in their last 9 games played and 3-2 ATS in five home games played this season. Head to head, the Lions are 1-3-1 ATS in their last five games against the Bears but are 6-2 ATS in their last eight home games against Chicago.
Chicago Bears vs Detroit Lions 11/22/18
Spread Odds: Bears -4 (-113), Lions +4 (-107)
Odds from sportsbetting.ag as of 11/20/18
Chicago has outscored its opposition by 15.75 points during their current four game winning streak. Although the Detroit Lions are coming off a victory over the Carolina Panthers, they are averaging just 17 points per game in their last three games and now they have to deal with the injury to running back Kerryon Johnson. The Bears have covered six of their last eight games as a favorite by at least three points.
Prediction: Bears -4 (-113)
The over is 6-1 in the last seven games played by the Bears and the over is 3-1 in Chicago’s four road games played this season. On the other hand, the total has gone over in six out of the 10 games played by the Detroit Lions this season and the over is 2-3 in their five home games played this season. Head to head, the under is 4-2 in the last six games between these two teams but the total has gone over in 4 of Detroit’s last 6 home games against Chicago.
Chicago Bears vs Detroit Lions 11/22/18
Over/Under Odds: Over 45 -110, Under 45 -110
Odds from sportsbetting.ag as of 11/20/18
The total has gone over in six out of the Bears’ last seven games with an average combined score of 53.0 points per game. The over is also 6-2 in the Lions’ last 8 games against NFC North teams. I expect a quarterback duel between Trubisky and Stafford here. The Lions have shown they can put up the points while the Bears have been an “over” machine.
Prediction: Over 45 -110
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