NFL: Bettors flock to Bears
Bettors are flocking to the Chicago Bears after Minnesota’s loss to Atlanta yesterday kept the door open for in the NFC North race.
Thanks to Minnesota’s loss, the Bears are still in the playoff hunt and a win tonight will set up an interesting Week 17 matchup against Houston. With the Bears still alive, bettors have shifted allegiance after supporting tonight’s opponent, the Green Bay Packers all last week.
The Bears (8-6) host the Packers (5-9) on Monday Night Football and you can see this NFC North rivalry at 8:30 pm ET on ESPN.
Chicago is back up to a 4 ½-oint favorite and 77% of the betting public is behind them.
The fact the public likes Chicago is not surprising for a number of other reasons.
For one, Green Bay has lost and failed to cover the spread in the last four weeks. Last week’s addition came at a Jacksonville team that hadn’t covered the spread at home all year (0-6 ATS). The final score was Jacksonville 20, Green Bay 16 and the Pack were 2.5-points favorites as the public loved them in that game too.
Second is the revenge factor. Green Bay’s last win came on November 16th when they absolutely blasted the Bears 37-3. Even if this game is close in the 4th quarter, the Bears would love to return the favor and pile up points if they can.
Third is the motivation. Even if Minnesota wins over Atlanta on Sunday and clinches the NFC North, the Bears will still be alive with a small chance for a Wild Card spot. Also, the Bears want to get to 10 wins on the season even if they do eventually get eliminated from the playoffs.
Finally, this is the 3rd game in a row for the Bears at Soldier Field. They are well rested and played very well in beating Jacksonville two weeks ago in getting the cover. They pushed against New Orleans last week but they did have a 21-7 lead at one point and showed grit in winning in overtime after the Saints comeback.
In addition to the game and Total wagering, we also have our Primetime Prop for this contest. Wager on the “Player to Score 1st TD” prop for the Packers @ Bears game. If your selection scores the game’s first touchdown and proceeds to rush OR receive for at least 100 yards in the game, winning wagers will be doubled up to $100.00 for this specific prop.
Note that some of the current odds for the ‘Player to Score 1st TD’ prop are: Matt Forte (4:1), Ryan Grant (6:1), Greg Jennings (6:1), Donald Driver (8:1) and Devin Hester (8:1).
Forte looks like a real solid bet as he is more than capable of scoring the first touchdown and going over 100 yards rushing to satisfy the Primetime Prop.
The same goes for Grant who has rushed for more than 100 yards three times this season already and passing yards could be at a premium in the cold night temperatures.
