Eagles Bears Betting – Vick, Eagles Continue To Roll Against Bears
Sports betting players will get to see two of the NFC’s best go toe-to-toe in Chicago on Sunday afternoon, when the Chicago Bears welcome the Philadelphia Eagles to town in a clash of two quarterbacks who are getting their careers back on track. We all know what happened to Michael Vick, while Jay Cutler had a terrible year in 2009. Vick is ahead of the curve right now, and he’ll be the difference (along with a fierce Philly pass rush) in a win for the Eagles.
- What: NFL betting
- When: Sunday, November 28th, 4:15 PM ET
- Where: Soldier Field, Chicago, IL
- Pick: Philadelphia Eagles -3.5
What’s On The Line
The Eagles (7-3) jumped to the top of the NFC East with a 27-17 win over the New York Giants at home on Sunday night, while the Bears (7-3) sit atop the NFC North after a 16-0 blanking of the Miami Dolphins on the road last Thursday. Both teams have won three in a row, and they’re still in the hunt for the No.1 seed in the conference, so a victory would be helpful in achieving that goal.
Offensive Matchups: Eagles Bears Betting
Philadelphia didn’t put on a show against the Giants after burying Washington, and Michael Vick wasn’t perfect with a couple of fumbles, but the Eagles still put up 392 yards on the Giants, and Vick ran for a touchdown. While he did fumble twice, Vick still managed to run for a touchdown, and he threw for 258 yards in the face of a tremendous New York pass rush. LeSean McCoy ran for 111 yards and his 50-yard score in the fourth quarter put the Eagles ahead for good. The Eagles are so balanced that it’s almost a “pick your poison” thing when you play them, but rule No.1 is to keep Vick contained to the pocket. He gets outside, and you’re done.
The Bears are 30th in the league offensively, 28 spots lower than Philadelphia, but they’ve been improving and the reason is an offensive line that is getting better. Jay Cutler was sacked three times against the Dolphins, but he was patient as Miami was taking away the deep threat, so he was content to hit the underneath routes. Matt Forte also ran for 97 yards and a touchdown, and that would really open up things for the Chicago offense. One major need for the Bears is receiving help: the receivers they have now are fine, but they’re not going to go very far in the playoffs with them.
Betting Edge: Eagles
Defensive Matchups: Eagles Bears Betting
The Eagles were all over the Giants on Sunday night, forcing five turnovers and even though they didn’t sack Eli Manning, they were in his face all night. They may be without cornerback Ellis Hobbs, who hurt his neck returning the kickoff in the second half, but they’ve been leaning towards Dmitri Patterson anyway, and he led the team with seven tackles on Sunday. The Eagles are ninth in the league on this side of the ball, but they lead the NFC with 26 takeaways.
The Bears are just one takeaway behind the Eagles, but they’re six spots ahead in the overall defensive rankings and quietly they may be the best defense in the entire league. End Julius Peppers had three of the Bears’ six sacks and has been a double-team magnet all season, Brian Urlacher and Lance Briggs are one of the top three linebacking duos in the NFL, and the secondary isn’t spectacular, but they’re solid and don’t make many mistakes. The front seven gives the Bears a minor edge on this side of the ball.
Betting Edge: Bears
Notable Injuries: Eagles Bears Betting
Hobbs (neck) is probably going to be on injured reserve, while end Juqua Parker (hip) will have to be watched closely by the Eagles.
The Bears don’t seem to have any serious injuries in the build-up to this game, but watch the injury reports on Wednesday and Thursday.
Betting Edge: Bears
Outlook and Pick: Eagles Bears Betting
The Eagles are a 3.5-point NFL betting favorite in this NFC showdown, but they’ve done well in the Windy City as of late, going 4-1 SU and 3-2 ATS in their last five trips to Soldier Field since 2002. The big matchup in this game will be Vick against the Bears’ front seven, and whether or not they can keep him from getting outside the picket. They’ve got great linebackers, but the Bears aren’t catching Vick when he gets outside. If the Eagles’ offensive line plays like they did against the Giants, Philly is going to roll. Also, this will be a huge test for the Bears’ offensive line: the Eagles have 26 sacks on the season, and we’ve all seen what happens when Cutler is pressured. Take Philadelphia to cover the online betting spread.
Stan’s Pick: Philadelphia Eagles
