Can the Chicago Bears cover the spread against the Detroit Lions in week 17?

The Chicago Bears are in an interesting scenario. Can they win this week, and if so can they make it into a wild card playoff spot? Well I have to answer that with a maybe.

If I am correct with the predication I made here that the Green Bay Packers will win over the Minnesota Vikings then the Bears have a shot at it. In order for Chicago to earn a playoff spot, they must win this week and the Vikings must lose.

Now I honestly think the Packers will win, but Detroit stands in the way of Chicago making it to the post season. It’s ironic that the Lions actually have the number 2 ranked offense in the league and yet they have not had any playoff hopes in a number of weeks. They are in last place in the NFC North division and are at 4 wins and 11 losses.

Not only are they number 2 in offense, but their passing game is ranked number 1. This is due to the accuracy of quarterback Matthew Stafford. He has thrown for 4695 yards and 17 touchdowns, but the stat that works against the Lions are that he has also thrown 16 interceptions. A number of those picks ended in points for their opponents.

Detroit has not had a great running game this year. On the defensive side of the ball they have done ok and have earned an overall rank of 13th. They are 14th against the pass and 18th against the run. They just have had trouble winning games. On average they have earned less first downs then their opponents and have had trouble getting touchdowns.

I do think the Bears have an edge in this game, but I also think they are going to have to work at it. Chicago’s offense is only ranked 28th overall and 29th for their passing game. They do however have a 9th ranked running game and it is logical we will see their running backs getting the ball in Sunday’s game.

The Bears have a higher time of possession over their opponents and that is partially due to such a good turnover ratio as well as the fact that they have moved the ball very well on the ground this year.

With a defense that is ranked 5th overall and 6th against the passing game, it will be very interesting to see how well they do against the number 1 passer in the league. These two met earlier in the season during week 7. The Bears squeaked that one out and won the game 13 to 7. In that game Lions quarterback Stafford threw for 311 yards and I think they need to stop Stafford from doing that in this game or Chicago will just have a much larger battle on their hands.

During the second half of the season, Chicago has had a bit of trouble containing some of the more mobile quarterbacks such as Aaron Rodgers of Green Bay, Colin Kaepernick of San Francisco and Russell Wilson of Seattle. If they have the same kind of trouble with Stafford this week they are not going to the playoffs.

Whether the Bears can come out of this game with the win as well as covering the spread is a tough call. I could just say, if this happens or if that happens, but you can’t base a betting decision on that and must make a choice.

I do think that the Bears will come in to this game knowing how important it is to stop Stafford and apply enough pressure on him to keep him from having that 300 yard game. They also know that they need to run the ball effectively and turn their drives into scoring plays and convert those red zone opportunities and not squander them like they did in their matchup earlier in the year.

This game is extremely important to Chicago and I do think they will bring their “A” game and win. The bookies have the Bears as favorites in this game with a 3 point spread and I do think Chicago will cover. In fact I am picking the Bears by 5.

If you are looking for a bookie to take your bet look no further. Just take a look at Bet Online.