Chicago Bears (5-1 4-2 ATS) at L.A. Rams (4-2 3-2 ATS)
In a Monday night NFC matchup in La La Land the Rams host the surprising Bears. The Rams are the 6-point home favorite with the total sitting at 45.
The Bears have won two in a row and at 5-1 they are atop the NFC North. The team only ranks 27th in ppg but the D has been solid only giving up an average of 19.3 ppg.
The Rams had their two-game win streak snapped in their last game losing to the San Francisco 49ers 24-16. All of the wins for L.A. this season have come against teams in the weak NFC East and they are 0-2 facing teams that currently are at .500 or better.
The Rams have also been led by their defense only giving up an average of 19 ppg. They had scored 47 points in the two wins before their last game where they only scored 16 points.
While Chicago is at 5-1 they have only beaten one team this season that currently has a winning record.
These teams last met in the 2018 season where the Bears beat the Rams 15-6.
The Bears are 4-0 ATS in their last four Monday night games while the Rams are only 2-7-1 ATS in their last 10 Monday night games.
The Turnovers Help
In their last game, the Bears beat the Carolina Panthers 23-16 where they were outgained 303 yards to 261 yards and only rushed for 63 yards but forced three turnovers and did not commit any.
Nick Foles passed for 198 yards with a TD and an INT in the win over the Panthers. He has a pick and a TD in each of his last three games and only ranks 23rd in the league in QBR. Foles was not sacked in the last game and in this game face a Rams pass rush led by Aaron Donald, who leads the league with 7.5 sacks.
The Bears only rank 28th in the league in rushing yards per game. David Montgomery leads the team with 305 rushing yards and in his last four games has averaged 39.7 rushing yards per game and has only averaged 2.9 yards per carry.
The Rams’ D gave up 390 yards in their last game and 122 rushing yards and Montgomery has to get something going on the ground in this game, as Foles and the defense cannot do it all.
Bad First Half
In their last game, the Rams lost to the San Francisco 49ers 24-16 where they were down 21-6 at the half.
Jared Goff passed for 198 yards with two TD and one INT and he has been up and down on the season. He has a pretty good WR corps and a solid O-line and will face a decent pass rush for Chicago, which has 15 sacks.
Darrell Henderson Jr. led the Rams in the las game with 88 rushing yards and averaged a legit 6.3 yards per carry. He has rushed for 348 yards on the season with Malcolm Brown with 217 yards. The strength of the Rams’ offense so far has been the run game and will face a Chicago run D that gave up 112 rushing yards in the last game.
Something has got to give in this game, as the Rams are 2-0 at home and the Bears are 3-0 on the road.
Prediction
The Rams are 4-1-1 ATS in their last 6 games following a straight-up loss and the Bears are only 2-6 ATS in their last eight games facing a team with a winning record.
I think this game will expose the fact that the Rams are not as good as their 4-2 record. Their four wins have come against teams that have a combined four wins. Chicago may have issues on offense but their defense will come through in this game. I am taking the Bears to at least cover the spread and the moneyline bet may be a good one, as I believe they will get the W as well.
PICK: Bears +6