The Chicago Bears meet the Dallas Cowboys this week in a game that will feature the NFL’s top rusher, DeMarco Murray (1,427 yards, 8 TDs). Chicago (5-7) has had a subpar season, but has shown signs of life as of late, winning two of their last three. The game will begin Thursday at 8:25 p.m. ET and can be seen on NFL Network.
Chicago dropped one to Detroit 34-17 last week. Martellus Bennett had a big game in the loss, hauling in eight receptions for 109 yards. Alshon Jeffery was a factor as well, totaling 71 yards and two TDs on nine catches. Dallas came up short as well, struggling mightily against Philadelphia 33-10. Murray had a huge game for the Cowboys, putting up 113 total yards and a score. He had some success as both a runner (73 yards) and receiver (40 yards).
Dallas is a four-point favorite in this game against the Bears. The teams combine to set the Over/Under (O/U) at 52 points. Sitting at 5-7 both Straight Up (SU) and Against The Spread (ATS), the Bears will look to improve as they head into Week 14. In their five most recent matchups, the Bears went 2-3 both SU and ATS. A big source of success for Dallas’s opponents this season is the passing game. The Bears may continue to manipulate a fragile Cowboys pass defense that allows a 66.4% completion percentage. Turning to the Bears defense, there are several areas to keep an eye on. A major part of the game will be if the Bears can attack Dallas’s ball security, which currently is one of the worst in the league with one fumbles lost per game.
Over on the other sideline, the Cowboys have 8-4 SU and 6-6 ATS records this season. Over their last five games, the Cowboys have a SU record of 2-3 and a 1-4 record ATS for those betting with them. Offensively, they should be able to find paydirt quite often against the Bears, who are one of the worst-scoring defenses in the league at 28.1 points allowed per game. Odds are Dallas will continue to rely on its run game, where its 155 rushing yards per road game ranks third in the league. The Cowboys look to feast on Chicago’s subpar offense, which averages 18.6 points per home game. Limiting the passing game shouldn’t be a difficult task for Dallas. When playing at home, the Bears have the league’s 30th-ranked yards per pass at 9.7. The Cowboys need to capitalize on takeaway opportunities against the turnover-inclined Bears, who rank 27th in the league in turnovers with 1.9 per game. The Cowboys could take advantage of Chicago’s reputation as a slow starter on defense. They are 29th in the NFL in first-quarter points allowed at home with 6.2. Don’t expect many calls against the Cowboys on game day. They average only 45 penalty yards per game, the fifth-fewest in the NFL.
Predictions: SU Winner – DAL, ATS Winner – DAL, O/U – Under
Notes
Dallas is 8-3 SU in its last 11 games.
The total has gone OVER in 11 of Chicago’s last 16 games.
Dallas is 1-4 ATS in its last 5 games.
Chicago is 2-4 SU in its last 6 games.
Dallas is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games on the road.
Chicago is 8-17 ATS in its last 25 games.
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Dallas’s last 5 games on the road.
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Chicago’s last 5 games at home.
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Dallas’s last 5 games when playing Chicago.
Chicago is 2-4 SU in its last 6 games at home.
Dallas is 2-4 SU in its last 6 games when playing Chicago.
Chicago is 3-11-1 ATS in its last 15 games at home.
Dallas is 2-4 ATS in its last 6 games when playing Chicago.
Chicago is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games when playing Dallas.
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Dallas’s last 7 games when playing on the road against Chicago.
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Chicago’s last 5 games when playing Dallas.
Dallas is 2-4 SU in its last 6 games when playing on the road against Chicago.
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Chicago’s last 7 games when playing at home against Dallas.
Dallas is 2-4 ATS in its last 6 games when playing on the road against Chicago.
Chicago is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games when playing at home against Dallas.
Dallas is 5-1 SU when leading at the half this season. Chicago is 3-1 SU when taking a lead into halftime.
Dallas is 6-0 SU when leading at the start of the fourth quarter this season. Chicago is 4-1 SU when carrying a lead into the fourth quarter.
Dallas is a perfect 5-0 SU in games where it wins the turnover battle, and only 2-4 SU in games where it loses the turnover battle.
This season, Chicago is only 1-7 SU in games where it loses the turnover battle.
The Chicago defense has forced an average of 2.0 turnovers over its last five games, but Dallas is a perfect 5-0 SU this season when turning the ball over at least 2 times in a game.
The Chicago passing attack is ranked 15th in the league, while the Dallas pass defense is only ranked 20th. The Cowboys’ passing game is ranked 17th, compared to the 29th-ranked pass defense of the Bears.
Dallas is rated higher in the ground game on both sides of the ball. Its third-ranked rushing attack will face the 11th-ranked run defense of Chicago, while its 22nd-ranked run defense will look to contain the 26th-ranked rushing game of the Bears.
Chicago has allowed 22.8 points per game at home this year, which is ranked only 20th in the league. Dallas has scored 30.4 points per contest on the road (ranked second overall).
