Best Bears Bets Week 13: Receivers to Feast on Thanksgiving
For the second week in a row, the Bears played a very good team, and for the second week in a row, the Bears lost to a good team. But not by much. The Bears losing streak stands at five but our betting losing streak ended. With the Vikings covering the spread, we went 3-1 last week, boosting our season record to 24-34.
Caleb Williams had himself a day last week. With 340 passing yards and 31 rushing yards, we won both our bets on Williams.
Every single Bears wide receiver hit their number last week, except our bet on Rome Odunze. For the second week in a row, we picked the only receiver who did not hit their number.
We asked several questions prior to last week's game and those questions were answered after the contest.
How much more bad luck could the Bears have this year? Apparently, plenty more. Another blocked field goal, a fumbled punt, and an overtime loss. I guess some of this is not actually luck but poor play.
Was the Week 11 offensive performance an anomaly or a new trend? It was a new trend.
Is Thomas Brown's offensive strategy easy to defend? No, it is not.
On to the Lions on Thanksgiving. All odds by Draft Kings.
Betting the Game
The Bears offense performed admirably in Week 12. The big difference from Week 11, though, was the points. 27 offensive points is game-winning football, even if they did not win the game. However, the Lions propose a new threat, and Williams is playing on a short week for the first time.
According to NFL.com, the Lions are the best team in football with a high-flying offense. Per NFL.com stats, the Lions are fifth in passing yards, fourth in passing touchdowns, and second in passer rating. Did you know that QB Jared Goff is in the MVP conversation? The Lions are fifth in rushing yards, second in rushing touchdowns, and eighth in yards per carry. Yes, the Lions are first in total number of touchdowns in the NFL.
The Bears defense is extremely good. Especially, in the red zone where they lead the league in scoring. The defense gave up the most points of the year last week. Some of it is due to short fields caused by turnovers, especially the fumbled punt.
The Bears give up the 11th fewest passing yards, the third-fewest passing touchdowns, and the eighth-lowest quarterback rating. According to Fox Sports, the Bears give up the eighth fewest points in the league (19.7 per game). The one thing that the defense continues to do each game, is give up big plays, really big plays. Just ask Jordan Addison (162 yards, over 20 yards per catch) and TJ Hockenson (114 yards, 16 yards per catch). The Lions' explosive offense will be a holiday challenge for the Bears.
The Bears offense remains in the lower tier of most statistics. However, there have been stretches during the season where they have outperformed. That is happening right now. Per Fox, the Lions are 25th in passing defense and fifth in rushing defense. The Vikings completely shut down the Bears rushing game (except for Williams) to the tune of 78 yards. But even with a poor passing defense, the one thing that the Lions don't do is give up points. They are second in points allowed per game at 16.6. The one thing that the Bears offense doesn't do is score points. They score the 12th fewest touchdowns in the NFL.
Nine points just feels like too big of a spread though.
Pick: Bears -9 -108.