NFL Thursday Night Betting – Chicago to Vanquish New Orleans’ Lingering Hopes
The Saints have defied the sports betting odds by making a late charge for the NFC Wildcard, standing with a 7-6 SU record. Everyone jumped on their bandwagon early this season, and the pieces certainly seemed in place. They brought Vilma in from the Jets; added Jeremy Shockey from the Giants, Marques Colston was prepared to make the jump, while Reggie Bush continued his frustrating slow adaptation to the fast paced NFL game.
So what happened? Well they went 1-5 SU on the road so far, claiming a lone road victory over the Chiefs in Week 11. On top of that both Shockey and Colston were injured early in the season, and their secondary continued to suck the tailpipes of the league’s elite passing teams. The Saints have allowed an average of 231.2 passing yards against per game.
Their rushing attack certainly didn’t help add anything in to the mix, stumbling to a 95.7 yards per game average. The rushing defense compounded the problems by allowing 112.8 rush yards against per game. The Saints weren’t allowed any room to stumble after Carolina and Atlanta stormed out of the gates and Tampa took control of the division until recently. What happens in a competitive division when you can’t get your act together? Well you’re left at the bottom of the barrel despite being above five-hundred.
NFL Betting Trends
– New Orleans is 5-1 ATS in its last 6 games
-New Orleans is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games
-The total has gone OVER in 13 of New Orleans’s last 18 games
-Chicago is 2-4 ATS in its last 6 games
-The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Chicago’s last 5 games
-Chicago is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games at home
-The total has gone OVER in 6 of Chicago’s last 8 games at home
-Chicago is 2-3-1 ATS in its last 6 games when playing New Orleans
What we’ve clearly learned about the Saints is that they can not compete on the road. So what happens when they travel to the cold confines of Soldier Field this weekend? Do we go with the old adage that teams from warm climates lose steam in the cold weather of the North?
Yep! The Bears are a vintage cold weather team, leaning on a strong rushing attack that gains 112.9 yards per game on the ground thanks, in large part, to a retooled offensive line and Matt Forte, a long shot candidate for Rookie of the Year.
New Orleans Saints (7-6) vs. Chicago Bears (7-6)
Thursday, December 11th –- Soldier Field, Chicago — 8:15pm EST
NFL Betting Line: Chicago -3 (45)
The line on this game is tight because New Orleans is coming off a big win over Atlanta and the Bears have been brutal against the spread lately. Don’t be fooled, though. The Bears have played three of their last five games on the road, and throttled Jacksonville 23-10 last weekend. At home, the Bears are a dangerous team, especially in the cold weather where Brees will have trouble keeping his aging shoulder loose. That’s why this game is an easy bet on the Bears as the Saints say goodbye to the playoffs, and I can finally delete all the “I can’t believe you don’t believe in the Saints!” emails I’m inundated with.
