Minnesota vs Chicago: Da Bears can bounce back

24Nov 2012

Chicago can consign their Monday Night Football nightmare to the memory bank with a win against Minnesota, says Luca Bercelli

The Bears came into their last game versus the 49ers riding high, in sole possession of top spot in the NFC North, and feeling pretty good about themselves. Three hours later the complexion of their whole season had changed. They were absolutely ripped apart by a fearsome San Francisco and specifically by the linebacking duo of Aldon and Justin Smith.

Admittedly these two and the rest of the Niners' defensive unit are the dog's goolies and liable to embarrass anybody, but they humiliated the Bears O-line (especially offensive tackles J'Marcus Webb and Gabe Carimi), and if Chicago cannot address the serious issues they have protecting their second string quarterback, the rest of their season will not be a happy one.

Their number one starter at the QB position, Jay Cutler, finally succumbed to the battering he's been taking all season and back-up Jason Campbell just couldn't deal with the heat.

Every team that has the Bears on their schedule must be relishing the chance to tee-off on whoever is unlucky enough to be QB on gameday (and judging by the pounding Campbell took last week it's not likely to be him for too long).

In particular Minnesota sack-leader Jared Allen must be licking his lips as he gets two opportunities in three weeks against the Bears to add to his respectable sack-tally of seven for the season.

Having said all that, on the other side of the ball the Bears D haven't become dummies overnight and I don't expect them to leak 32 points as they did against San Fran too often. Stopping the run has been the bedrock of their defensive success and although they'll be severely tested up against 1,128-yard Adrian Peterson, I reckon they'll be up to it. Brian Urlacher and co have carried this franchise for a while now and with minimal offensive help should restore some pride and get the job done.

It all adds up to a low scoring affair with Da Bears just coming out on top. The outright win is skinny at 1.42 but the winning margin of 1-6 pts offers decent value @ 5.0, and a lay of the Total Points (41) @ 1.95 is always worth a shout with Chicago.

Recommended Bets

Back Chicago Bears to win by 1-6 pts @ 4.0

Back Chicago Bears to win on handicap (-5pts) @ 2.0

Lay Total Points (41) @ 2.0