Philadelphia Eagles (7-3 SU, 5-5 ATS) vs. Chicago Bears (7-3 SU, 5-4-1 ATS), 4:15 p.m. EST, Sunday, November 28, 2010, Soldier Field, Chicago, Ill. TV: FOX
by Ryno of Predictem.com
Betting Odds: Eagles -3.5/Bears +3.5
Over/Under Total: 42.5
The Philadelphia Eagles and the Chicago Bears are both on three-game winning streaks. They are both winning their division. They are both 7-3, a game back from the best record in the NFC and the entire NFL for that matter. But still, the playoffs are not a lock for either team. The Eagles have a one-game lead over the Giants in the NFC East, while the Bears are tied with the Packers for the NFC North division lead. This is a big game for both teams as they try to remain on top of their respective division and keep a strong hold on an NFC playoff spot.
The Eagles are running the ball well, playing solid defense, creating turnovers, and they have electric receivers. But the primary reason for their success this season is the play of quarterback Michael Vick. He is arguably playing the best football of his career and he is possibly the frontrunner for MVP right now, despite missing three games due to injury. He has only played five full games this season, but the Eagles are undefeated in those five games. He replaced Kevin Kolb for the second half of the Eagles’ first game, a loss to the Packers. Vick started the next two games and got wins over the Lions and Jaguars. He got injured during the next game and the Eagles lost to the Redskins. Kolb started the next three games and went 2-1 with the only loss coming to the Titans, a game the Eagles had a 16-3 lead in before losing the game, 37-19. After the bye week, Vick has started each of the last three games and the Eagles have won all of them, over the Colts, Redskins and Giants.
The most impressive stat for Vick is that he has thrown no interceptions this season. He just committed his first turnover, a lost fumble, last week in the win over the Giants. He has thrown for 1,608 yards and 11 touchdowns this season in a total of seven games but only five full games. He also has 375 rushing yards and five rushing touchdowns. Vick put up a historic performance two weeks ago in a 59-28 win over the Redskins when he was 20-for-28 passing for 333 yards and had eight carries for 80 rushing yards with four passing touchdowns and two rushing touchdowns.
Eagles RB LeSean McCoy has 726 rushing yards and six touchdowns. Jeremy Maclin leads the team in receiving with 47 receptions for 705 yards and seven touchdowns.
The Bears have had a roller coaster of a season. They started off 3-0 but then lost three of their next four games to fall to 4-3. Since then, they have won three straight games after their bye over the Bills, Vikings and Dolphins. The Bears defense has been solid all year, not allowing more than 23 points in any game. But their offense hasn’t been great at all. They have yet to score more than 27 points in any game.
Bears QB Jay Cutler has had a rocky season but he has been a little better lately. He has 2,064 passing yards, 12 touchdowns and 10 interceptions in nine games. Since the bye week, he has five touchdowns and three interceptions. Matt Forte has 567 rushing yards, four rushing touchdowns, 32 receptions, 331 receiving yards and three receiving touchdowns. Johnny Knox leads the Bears in receiving with 37 receptions for 672 yards and a touchdown.
The Eagles are 4-0 ATS in their last four NFC games and 6-1 ATS in their last seven games as a road favorite. The Bears are 5-1 ATS in their last six games as an underdog but 0-5-1 ATS in their last six games following a SU win of more than 14 points. The under is 4-1 in the last five meetings between these teams. The underdog and the road team are both 6-2 in the last eight meetings between these teams.
Ryno’s Pick to Cover the Point Spread: We saw on Sunday night that if a team has a solid DL and mobile LBs they can slow down the Eagles. The Bears are exactly that and have a a very oportunistic defense averaging 2.5 turnovers per game. Chicago’s offensive line is improving and if Cutler doesn’t revert back to a turnover machine the Bears can win this game outright.
Take Da Bears +3.5 points.
