Bears
vs.
Bengals
Week 14
NFL Pick
12/10/17
By: Jason Green
Chicago Bears (3-9 SU 5-6-1 ATS) vs. Cincinnati Bengals (5-7 SU 7-5 ATS)
The Bears are in full rebuilding mode and this season is toast with the team mired in a five-Game losing streak. They have played some close Games in their losing streak, but they lost to the 49ers in their last Game, who only had one win, and they are in last place in the NFC North. Mitchell Trubisky may be their QB of the future, but they have not let him go full bore and Chicago not only ranks last in the NFL in passing yards per Game, but 30th in ppg.
5Dimes sportsbook has the Bengals as the 7-point favorite with a total of 38.5.
The Bengals are sitting at .500, but in the wide-open AFC they are still in the playoff hunt, but, obviously, have to finish off the season well. They are coming off a loss to the Steelers in their last Game, which snapped their two-Game win streak, where they blew a 17-point lead at home. The offense has been the main issue for CiNCy on the season while the defense has been pretty good.
The Bengals have not faced the Bears since the 2013 season and they are 3-1-1 ATS in their last five Games against them.
Hard to believe, but the Bears almost beat the 49ers in their last Game, losing 15-14, even though they were out-GAined 388 yards to 147 yards. They GAve up a late FG for the loss and they had one turnover while they forced one as well. The season is over and why don’t the Bears let Trubisky air it out to see what he can do? OK, so he does not have a good WR corps, but he has shown some promise and in the loss to San Fran he only passed for 102 yards with a TD and he was not picked off. The big gun for the Chicago offense is 2nd year back Jordan Howard, who has been up and down on the season and in the 49ers Game it was the latter with him only rushing for 38 yards and averaging a very weak 2.8 yards per carry. The Bengals only rank 28th in the NFL in run D so look for Howard to get a lot of action and if he cannot produce the Bears may be in a world of hurt unless their defense holds CiNCy in check.
The Bengals were showcased last Monday night and started well, but were outscored 20-3 in the 2nd half in their 23-20 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Bengals only had 21 fewer yards, had more rushing yards, and forced the Game’s only turnover and were better on 3rd down conversions and still lost. Andy Dalton went for 234 yards with 2 TD and 0 INT and star WR A.J. Green had both of the TD catches and led the team with 77 receiving yards. Giovani Bernard rushed for 77 yards on 5.9 yards per carry and with Joe Mixon likely out for this Game with a coNCussion he will get most of the work in the backfield.
While the offense has been pretty bad for Chicago they do rank 12th in the league in pass defense, 15th in run defense, and overall rank 14th in points allowed per Game.
The Bears are 1-5 ATS in their last 6 road Games, 0-4-1 ATS in their last 5 Games, and in their last 12 Games after an ATS loss they have an Under record of 9-3.
The Bengals are 4-0 ATS in their last 4 Games, 13-5 ATS in their last 18 Games facing a team with a losing record, and in their last 7 Games they have an Over record of 5-2.
Jason’s Pick: CiNCy has been less than impressive this season, but facing the Bears and their weak offense they will get it done at home. They will win this Game and cover giving six points keeping their playoff hopes alive.