Vegas Odds: Chicago Bears vs. Arizona Cardinals |
After their hail mary loss to the Washington Commanders, the Chicago Bears are not favored to win for the first time since week three against the Indianapolis Colts. According to DraftKings, the Bears are +1.5 underdogs going against the Arizona Cardinals this Sunday (3:05 p.m. / CBS) with an over / under of 44.5.
This game may ultimately come down to who wants to win more. Chicago has more to play for. With a 4-3 record, they are alone in last in the NFC North, while the Cardinals, with their 4-4 record, are in a three-way tie for first in the NFC West. Arizona’s rushing attack will probably be a problem for the Bears defense, who has struggled against the run and against dual threat quarterbacks all season. For these reasons, Chicago will not cover the spread. For the over / under, Arizona does not have a good defense. However, Chicago will also most likely give up a lot of points on the ground. Between these two factors, both teams will score multiple touchdowns in this game, and therefore, the over will hit. This assumption means that the Bears will score multiple touchdowns. Running back D’Andre Swift has been on a touchdown streak, putting up a rushing touchdown in the last four games. He is also typically involved in the passing game. However, last week marked the first game this season in which Swift was not targeted. Nonetheless, he seems poised to find the endzone once again and, therefore, is a good bet as any anytime touchdown scorer. Chicago’s offense will probably be primarily the ground game. But, having a successful run attack also means things could open up in the passing game. Rookie quarterback Caleb Williams only had 131 passing yards against the Commanders. The last time he had under 200 passing yards, he responded with a 300-passing-yard performance. While he will not have that many passing yards against the Cardinals because the Bears will be running the ball so much, he can reasonably be expected to hit at least 225 passing yards. If Williams is going to have 225 passing yards, he will need to throw to Chicago’s top receiver - DJ Moore. Moore only averages 48.7 yards per game this season, although he leads all Bears players in that metric. Going against a defense that gives up a lot of passing yards like the Cardinals gives Moore the opportunity to have one of his better games of the season with at least 70 receiving yards. Williams and veteran receiver Keenan Allen seemed to lack chemistry earlier in the season. However, Allen now has 12 targets over the past two games. Granted, he only had a 28.6 catch percentage last week, but he is receiving that attention from his quarterback. Allen is not the type of elite talent that often has a 28.6 catch percentage. Because he is getting the targets and is still averaging 9.5 yards per reception, Allen can hit at least 50 receiving yards against the Cardinals. In the times Allen has played the Cardinals, he has averaged 52.7 yards per game. Same Game Parlay In a same game parlay where the Chicago Bears do not cover the spread (-108), the over hits (-110), Swift scores a touchdown (-105), Williams has at least 225 passing yards (-110), Moore has at least 70 receiving yards (+180) and Allen has at least 50 receiving yards (+100), a same game parlay on DraftKings has odds of +3500. Therefore, a $5 bet on this parlay would give a profit of $180.
