A couple of teams that prefer to air it out, the Chicago Bears (-6) are prepared to welcome the Los Angeles Chargers at Soldier Field. This early afternoon matchup gets underway at 1:00 p.m. ET and you can watch the action on FOX.
Week 8 Betting Preview: Chicago Bears vs. Los Angeles Chargers
In this Sunday game, Chicago is projected as the favorite and the team’s currently giving up 6 points. The Chargers are also receiving +180 moneyline odds while the Bears are -220. Vegas has placed the over/under (O/U) at 40 points, and if one side finds paydirt in the early stages, it would likely produce a nice in-game betting opportunity.
Odds have swayed slightly from when they were initially posted. The opening line was -5 while the game’s total was set originally at 40.5.
The Chargers are 2-4-1 against the spread (ATS) and are down 5.7 units so far. They’ve been a good under bet and have posted an O/U record of 2-5.
The Bears have lost 3.0 units for moneyline bettors this season. They’re 2-4 ATS and have an even O/U record of 3-3.
The Chargers have gone 2-5 straight up (SU) in 2019 while the Bears are 3-3 SU.
The Bolts are most-recently on the rebound after a thin 23-20 loss to Tennessee in Week 7. Philip Rivers completed 24 passes for 329 yards and two touchdowns. Melvin Gordon III (just 32 yards on 16 rushes) led the ground attack while Ekeler (seven receptions, 118 yards, one TD) and Hunter Henry (six catches, 97 yards) handled the receiving duties in the defeat.
In Week 7, New Orleans took care of this Chicago crew by a score of 36-25. The Bears defense let the Saints rush for 151 yards on 35 attempts, including two rush TDs. Latavius Murray was a force to be reckoned with, recording 119 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 27 attempts for New Orleans. For Chicago, Mitchell Trubisky completed 34-of-54 passes for 251 yards and two touchdowns. Tarik Cohen (10 yards on three rush attempts) spearheaded the running game while Allen Robinson II (10 receptions, 87 yards, one TD) and Cohen (nine catches, 19 yards) led the pass-catching attack in the loss.
Each team sports a similar run-pass ratio on the season. Los Angeles has run the ball on 34.8 percent of its offensive possessions while Chicago has a rush percentage of 36.2. The Chargers have produced 74.3 rush yards/game and have three touchdowns on the ground this year. The Bears are putting up 70 rush yards per game and have two total rushing TDs.
The Bolts offensive scheme has tallied 303 yards/contest in the air overall and has 11 passing scores so far. The Bears have recorded 210.8 pass yards per outing and have eight total pass TDs.
Defensively, Los Angeles should have the upper hand when it comes to limiting the pass. The team has allowed 117.1 rush yards and 229 pass yards per game. The Chicago D has given up 261.7 yards per game to opposing passers and 94.3 yards per game to opposing runners. The Bears are giving up an adjusted net yards per pass attempt (ANY/A) of just 5.5 to opponents, while the Chargers have allowed a 7.45 ANY/A.
Offensively, Rivers has amassed 1,794 passing yards on the year, and has completed 68 percent of his 232 attempts with nine passing scores and four interceptions. He has a 7.09 adjusted net yards per pass attempt, including 7.52 over the last two games.
Mitchell Trubisky has completed 103-of-160 passes for 839 yards, five TDs and two INTs for Chicago. His ANY/A stands at a mediocre 4.65 for the year and 4.91 over his last two games.
Los Angeles Chargers vs. Chicago Bears Free Betting Pick
SU Winner: Bears, ATS Winner: Chargers, O/U: Over
Team Betting Notes
- As a team, Los Angeles has produced 2.1 yards per carry across its past three outings and 2.0 over its last two.
- Chicago has averaged 2.3 yards per carry over its last three contests and 2.5 over its last two.
- Chicago has lost two fumbles this season while Los Angeles has lost six.
- Los Angeles has lost six of its last seven games SU, with a 20-point win over Miami on September 29th accounting for the only victory over that span.
- The Chargers offense has recorded three pass plays of 40 or more yards, while the Bears have accounted for zero such plays.
- Both defenses have allowed two pass plays of 40 or more yards. The Los Angeles defense has given up 10 pass plays of 30+ yards while Chicago has yielded five such plays.
- Both defenses have produced two rushing plays of 20 yards or more. The Los Angeles offense has recorded 10 running plays of 10+ yards while Chicago has accounted for four such plays.
- The Chargers defense has allowed five rushing plays of 20+ yards, while the Bears have given up two such runs.
- The Chicago defense has registered 18 sacks on the year while Los Angeles has 14.
