NFL Handicapping – Rams vs Bears Betting Spread / Matchup
The Bears want to forget their last game when Jay Cutler was intercepted 4 times and was sacked 7 times and during that game he let his offensive line know how he felt.
Venue/ Stadium: Soldier Field, Chicago, IL
Time/Date: 1 PM EST Sunday, September 23, 2012
NFL Odds From: TopBet
Moneyline: Rams +270 / Bears -330
Spread: Bears -7.5
Over/Under: 43
St. Louis Rams vs. Chicago Bears Preview
On the other side of the coin the Rams look to build on a solid win in their last game when Sam Bradford passed for over 300 yards. NFL lines have the Bears as 7.5-point favorites with a total of 7.5.
In their last games the Rams beat the Washington Redskins 31-28 while the Bears lost to the Green Bay Packers 23-10.
This season the Rams are 2-0 ATS with an Over/Under record of 2-0 and the Bears are 1-1 ATS with an Over/Under record of 1-1.
GRAB OUR BEST Expert NFL Picks for 2012 NFL FOOTBALL Betting!
Bradford passed for 310 yards with 1 TD in the win over the Redskins and while he does not have a great WR corps WR Danny Amendola is turning into a solid target and he had 160 receiving yards last week. While the Bears were embarrassed last week with all of their mistakes their 21st ranked pass defense played decent keeping Aaron Rodgers in check and they picked him off once.
Steven Jackson should get the start in this game in the backfield and while head coach Jeff Fisher said he was benched because of a minor groin injury he may have been taken out after getting a penalty on a stupid play. He has only averaged 3.7 yards per carry and may struggle to move the chains on the ground facing a Bears’ run defense that ranks 9th in the league. [soliloquy id=”82219″]
Cutler, obviously, needs better protection in this game and that may be an easier task from his offensive line since the Rams only have 2 sacks all season. Brandon Marshall and Alshon Jeffery are solid targets and each are tall WR’s that may give the Rams’ secondary problems. The Rams’ pass defense only rank 24th in the league, but they do have 4 picks this season.
Matt Forte was not used much in the last game, as the Bears had to go to the air to come back, but that should change in this game. St. Louis does not have a very good run defense and the Bears will feed Forte early and often in this game.
In some betting trends for this NFC match up the Rams are 3-1-1 ATS in their last 5 games overall, 2-9 ATS in their last 11 road games, and they have an Under record of 5-2 in their last 7 games after a win.
The Bears are 7-3-1 ATS in their last 11 games after scoring less than 15 points in their previous game and they have an Over record of 6-1 in their last 7 road games.
Jason’s Pick: The Bears have covered the spread in 4 of their last 5 games against the Rams and that will continue in this game. Cutler will get protection and bounce back and have a good game and Forte will tear the Rams’ run defense apart. Take the Bears to win and cover in this game.
