Bears
vs.
Colts
Week 5
NFL Pick
10/9/16
Chicago travels to Indianapolis in Week 5. Both teams have struggled mightily out of the GAte to 1-3 records. Indianapolis has been really bad on the defensive side of the ball and cannot protect Andrew LUck. Chicago has had a lot of injury coNCerns and has failed to Scoremore than 24 points in a single Game this season. The 5Dimes Sportsbook has the Colts favored by 4.5 and an over/under of 47.5.
Jay Cutler is still dealing with a thumb injury. He’s missed practice the last few days, so the thought is that oNCe again Brian Hoyer will be starting for the Bears. Hoyer has completed 58-of-85 passes for 619 yards, Four touchdowns and no interceptions in his starts the last two weeks.
Alshon Jeffery and Eddie Royal are regular challenges for opponents. They are averaging nearly 140 yards receiving per Game, combined. Kevin White is on his way to figuring things out as well. In his last two Games he has 12 receptions for 117 yards. That’s compared to seven receptions for 70 yards in the first two Games of the season. The more White gets ACClimated, the better.
Chicago may have found something a week ago in rookie running back Jordan Howard. He ran 23 times for 111 yards. On the season, Howard now has 178 yards on 35 carries. He’s also contributing as a receiver out of the backfield as he has nine receptions for 77 yards.
LUck has had a difficult time behind a struggling offensive line. He’s completing just 62 percent of his passes for nearly 300 yards per Game. LUck has thrown eight touchdowns and three interceptions. He’s also been sacked 15 times already this season.
T.Y. Hilton and Phillip Dorsett are the threats deep for LUck, helping the Colts keep some semblaNCe of dangerous offense. They are both averaging over 50 yards per Game and have combined for three touchdowns so far.
Frank Gore has shown mild progress as the season has gone on, but he’s still just averaging 4.0 yards per carry. Gore has 64 carries for 253 yards and two touchdowns in 2016.
Chicago may have struggled some offensively, but the Colts rank 24th in both passing and overall defense. Expect to see the Bears’ passing Game effective again as this Game goes on.
Bears offense ranks 31st out of 32 teams using yards per point to rank. Can’t win if you can’t score. Colts -5