Detroit Lions vs. Chicago Bears Line
The Detroit Lions vs. Chicago Bears line has remained steady at Chicago -10 since opening earlier this week at that number, though a few of the Las Vegas bookmakers have moved the number to -10 ½. The game time line was expected to still be at -10 across the board online. Bookmaker.com was offering the -10 point line.
The betting public overall was feeling quite good about the Detroit Lions. Approximately 75 percent of the action on the -10 point spread was going Detroit's way in this game.
The Lions (1-2) hadn't won since Dec. 23, 2007 and its 19-game skid matched the second longest in NFL history.
"We not only got the monkey off our back, we got King Kong off our back," said Lions owner William Clay Ford. "I'm hoping that this gets us over that hump and gives us a winning attitude."
The one benefit of losing every game last season was it gave Detroit the No. 1 pick in the draft and it chose Matthew Stafford hoping he would be the franchise quarterback it has lacked for decades.
The Chicago Bears, meanwhile, beat Seattle in a hard-fought road battle late Sunday afternoon.
The Bears scored 25 of the game's final 31 points to come back from a 13-0 deficit and win in Seattle for the first time since 1976.
Cutler overcame a malfunctioning helmet headset and a raucous Seattle crowd that made play calls hard to hear to complete 21 of 27 passes for 247 yards and three touchdowns, with one interception.
He also completed more than 70 percent of his throws last week against the Super Bowl champion Pittsburgh Steelers -- a doubly strong response to the career-high four interceptions he threw in a loss on opening night at Green Bay.
"To me, you judge good quarterbacks based on what they can do late in the game, and Jay wants the ball in his hands," Bears coach Lovie Smith said. "He had a good look about him knowing that we had to go down and score. We all had confidence that he would lead us."
A few of the online sportsbooks did underestimate the public interest in Detroit by opening the Lions vs. Bears line at -11. Bookmaker.com, usually among the first to establish a line on upcoming NFL games, initially posted a -12, which was hit within 10 minutes by wiseguys and swiftly brought down to -11.
These teams have essentially split the series wins over the last 10 head-to-heads. While the Bears won both their games last season against Detroit, the Lions won both their games against Chicago the season prior. Chicago won the four previous games. The Bears have beaten Detroit by more than the current spread on three occasions in the last ten.
The Lions are 6-1 ATS in their last 7 games as a road underdog.
The Lions are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 vs. NFC North.
The Lions are 1-5 ATS in their last 6 games following a ATS win.
The Lions are 1-11 ATS in their last 12 games as a road underdog of 3.5-10.0.
The Bears are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games as a favorite of 3.5-10.0.
The Bears are 4-10-1 ATS in their last 15 games as a home favorite.
The Bears are 5-16-2 ATS in their last 23 games following a S.U. win.
The Bears are 1-5 ATS in their last 6 games as a home favorite of 3.5-10.0.
Chicago 0-5 ATS in their last 5 vs. NFC North.
Dan Shapiro, Gambling911.com
