The Chicago Bears play the New Orleans Saints this week in a game that will feature the NFL’s third-leading passer, Drew Brees (3,983 yards, 28 TDs). This game is equally important for Chicago (5-8) and New Orleans (5-8), as they both come into this game aiming for a victory. The game kicks off Monday at 8:30 p.m. ET and can be seen on ESPN.
In last week’s game, Bears dropped one to Cowboys 41-28. Martellus Bennett had a great game in the loss, grabbing 12 receptions for 84 yards and one TD. Jay Cutler also had a big game with 341 yards and two TDs through the air. New Orleans came up short, getting blown out by Carolina 41-10. Curtis Lofton led the New Orleans defense, registering 17 tackles.
New Orleans is a three-point favorite in this game against the Bears. The teams combine to set the Over/Under (O/U) at 54 points. Sitting at 5-8 both Straight Up (SU) and Against The Spread (ATS), the Bears will look to improve as they head into Week 15. In their five most recent matchups, the Bears went 2-3 both SU and ATS. Chances are Chicago will try to take advantage of an inferior pass defense. The Saints are 29th in the league against the pass, giving up 265.1 passing yards per game. Based off of its tendencies, the New Orleans defense will probably make it easy on the Bears right from the first whistle. The Saints allow their opponents an average of 5.8 points in the first 15 minutes.
On the other side, the Saints also have 5-8 SU and ATS records this season. Over their last five games, the Saints have a SU and ATS record of 1-4 for those betting with them. They come into the game averaging 25.6 points per game, but expect those numbers to rise. The Bears give up an average of 29.1 points, worst in the league. New Orleans has found a lot of success through the air. Its 297.3 passing yards per game ranks third in the NFL. The Saints can take advantage of Chicago’s bad habit of giving up points heading into halftime. They allow an NFL-high 12.2 points during the second quarter. New Orleans is good at avoiding penalties this season. The team only receives 5.5 per game on average, the fifth-fewest in the league.
Predictions: SU Winner – NO, ATS Winner – NO, O/U – Over
Notes
The total has gone OVER in 4 of New Orleans’s last 5 games.
The total has gone OVER in 12 of Chicago’s last 17 games.
New Orleans is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games.
Chicago is 2-5 SU in its last 7 games.
New Orleans is 1-4 ATS in its last 5 games.
Chicago is 2-5 ATS in its last 7 games.
The total has gone OVER in 5 of New Orleans’s last 6 games on the road.
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Chicago’s last 6 games at home.
New Orleans is 3-8 SU in its last 11 games on the road.
Chicago is 2-5 SU in its last 7 games at home.
New Orleans is 2-4 SU in its last 6 games when playing Chicago.
Chicago is 3-12-1 ATS in its last 16 games at home.
New Orleans is 2-2-2 ATS in its last 6 games when playing Chicago.
Chicago is 2-5-2 ATS in its last 9 games when playing New Orleans.
The total has gone OVER in 4 of New Orleans’s last 6 games when playing Chicago.
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Chicago’s last 6 games when playing New Orleans.
The total has gone OVER in 5 of New Orleans’s last 6 games when playing on the road against Chicago.
Chicago is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games when playing New Orleans.
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Chicago’s last 6 games when playing at home against New Orleans.
Chicago is 2-3-1 ATS in its last 6 games when playing at home against New Orleans.
New Orleans is 4-3 SU when leading at the half this season. Chicago is 3-1 SU when taking a lead into halftime.
Both teams are 4-1 SU when carrying a lead into the fourth quarter.
Chicago is undefeated (4-0 SU) in games where it wins the turnover battle, and only 1-8 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 New Orleans is 3-1 SU this season when turning the ball over at least 2 times in a game.
The Chicago passing attack is ranked 11th in the league, while the New Orleans pass defense is only ranked 29th. The Saints’ passing game is ranked third, compared to the 30th-ranked pass defense of the Bears.
The Chicago offensive ground attack is ranked 26th in the league, while the New Orleans rush defense is only ranked 29th. The Saints’ rushing game is ranked ninth, compared to the 16th-ranked run defense of the Bears.
New Orleans has given up 27.6 points per contest this year, which is ranked only 30th in the league. Chicago has scored 21.6 points per game this year and is ranked 18th overall.
Chicago has allowed 25.8 points per game at home this year, which is ranked only 28th in the league. New Orleans has scored 26.8 points per game on the road (ranked fourth overall).
