Jets-Bears Betting Preview
This Jets-Bears betting preview is courtesy of Barry Daniels of Don Best Sports and exclusive to the Gambling911.com website.
Points may be at a premium Sunday afternoon when the New York Jets travel to Chicago to battle the Bears in a contest featuring a pair of 10-4 clubs.
Most sports books monitored by Don Best Sports have opened the Bears as slight one-point home favorites, with the ‘total’ set at a skimpy 36 ½ points.
The Bears were all but buried not lone ago. They were a team going nowhere under a pile of mounting losses.
Well, it turns out they are going somewhere. They're headed back to the playoffs for the first time since their run to the 2007 Super Bowl.
A 40-14 romp outdoors at Minnesota on a cold and snowy Monday night did the trick, giving the Bears their third NFC North title in six years.
The Bears easily covered as 5 ½-point road favorites, raising their record to 10-4 SU and 7-6-1 ATS. The combined 54 points soared above the 34-point closing total, which enabled the ‘over’ to cash in Chicago’s last four games. Nevertheless, the ‘under’ is still 8-6 in the Bears’ first 14 outings.
The Bears shook off a brutal beating by New England the previous weekend and snapped a three-year playoff drought with a dominant effort that included Devin Hester's NFL record 14th career kick return for a touchdown and three TD passes by Jay Cutler.
Chicago was a mess heading into its bye in late October, suffering three losses in four games after a 3-0 start. The club has since turned things around in a big way.
The win over Minnesota was the sixth in seven games for a team that had appeared to be coming apart at the seams. Cutler was getting battered, the running game was being ignored and the blockers provided little protection. The Bears were a mess heading into their off week. Now, they'll try to lock down a first-round playoff bye in a home game against the New York Jets, and then wrap up the regular season at Green Bay.
Chicago owns the league’s third stingiest defense, allowing an average of 17.3 points per game. The squad yields 310.9 yards per contest, which ranks eighth. But the Bears are scoring just 20.9 points per game, which ranks 19th. They also rank a poor 30th by averaging 291.6 yards per game.
The Jets snapped a two-game losing skid with Sunday’s 22-17 upset of the Pittsburgh Steelers as 3 ½-point road underdogs. The victory raised New York’s ledger to 10-4 SU and 8-6 ATS overall, including a superb 6-1 SU on the road.
The combined 39 points barely slithered above the 36-point closing total, leaving the ‘over’ 10-4 in the Jets’ first 14 encounters and a perfect 7-0 in their first seven road dates. In fact, the ‘over’ is 12-3-1 in New York’s last 16 road outings dating to last season.
The Jets, nearing a playoff spot, won in Pittsburgh for the first time after going 0-7 there since the 1970 merger. Only two NFL teams have longer winless streaks in an opposing city during that span.
Mark Sanchez went 19-of-29 for 170 yards against a No. 4-ranked defense that was missing injured safety Troy Polamalu (Achilles' tendon). Braylon Edwards took advantage of Polamalu’s absence by making eight catches for 100 yards. New York won in one of the NFL's most difficult road venues despite being out-gained 378-276.
Sanchez is listed as “probable” in the Don Best Sports injury reported with a sore shoulder. Safety Eric Smith (concussion) and defensive end Trevor Price (hip) are both listed as “questionable.” Chicago tight end Desmond Clark is also “questionable” with a neck injury.
Don Best Sports lists some interesting trends for this contest.
The Jets are 10-3 ATS in their last 13 road dates, 6-2 ATS in their last eight as underdogs and 7-3 in their last 10 against teams with a winning record. The ‘over’ is 5-0 in New York’s last five games as an underdog and 10-3 in its last 13 overall outings.
The Bears are 4-1 ATS in their last five games against teams with a winning record, but just 1-5 ATS in their last six as home favorites. The ‘over’ is 8-2 in Chicago’s last eight games as a home favorite of less than three points.
The ‘under’ has cashed in each of the last seven series meetings between the Bears and Jets.
