Following a brutal loss to the Carolina Panthers on Monday Night Football, the Washington Redskins are on the outside looking in to the NFC playoff picture with just two weeks remaining in the regular season. Washington will need to win out and get some help if they are going to have a shot at a Wild Card spot beginning with a victory on the road against the Chicago Bears on Sunday. While the Bears are hampered by a slew of injuries, they’ve proven to be very scrappy over the last month. They definitely won’t be a pushover in this spot.
Moneyline: Redskins -180
Handicap/Spread Odds: Redskins -3.5
Total O/U: 45.5
Last 5 Meetings: (Road/Home – Spread/Total)
| 12/13/15 | WAS 24 – CHI 21 | WAS 4 | O 42.5 |
| 10/20/13 | CHI 41 – WAS 45 | WAS 1 | O 47.5 |
| 10/24/10 | WAS 17 – CHI 14 | WAS 3 | U 40 |
| 12/06/07 | CHI 16 – WAS 24 | WAS -3 | O 39 |
| 09/11/05 | CHI 7 – WAS 9 | CHI 5.5 | U 33 |
On The Redskins Side of the Ball (7-6-1 Record, 9-5 ATS)
The Redskins blew an opportunity to leapfrog the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Green Bay Packers in to the final NFC Wild Card spot when they lost to the Panthers on Monday night. Washington could have improved to 8-5-1 for a half-game lead on Tampa Bay and Green Bay but instead they fell to 7-6-1 and no longer control their own destiny. Kirk Cousins threw for over 300 yards but he failed to throw a touchdown and he did have an interception. Meanwhile, Washington averaged just 2.2 yards per carry and finished with 29 yards on 13 attempts on the ground. The Redskins defense couldn’t keep Cam Newton in check as last year’s MVP threw for 300 yards and two touchdowns and it will be interesting to see how this group fares in the cold weather this weekend.
Last 5 Results:
| 12/19/16 | CAR | L 15-26 | L -7 | U 50.5 |
| 12/11/16 | @PHI | W 27-22 | W -2 | O 48.5 |
| 12/04/16 | @ARI | L 23-31 | L 2.5 | O 48.5 |
| 11/24/16 | @DAL | L 26-31 | W 5.5 | O 53 |
| 11/20/16 | GB | W 42-24 | W -3 | O 48 |
On The Bears Side of the Ball (3-11 Record, 7-7 ATS)
While they fell just short of getting the win, the Bears can take a number of positives from their 30-27 loss to the Green Bay Packers last week. Matt Barkley completed 30-of-43 passes for 362 yards and two touchdowns with three interceptions. If he can continue to move the football without the picks then he could force Chicago to take a long look at him as a potential starter moving forward. Meanwhile, Jalen Howard rushed for 90 yards and a touchdown with another four catches for 23 yards and there is no doubt that he has all of the tools to be the feature back for the Bears moving forward. The Bears defense sacked Aaron Rodgers four times and will need to generate the same level of pressure on Cousins this week. Chicago did a lot of good things in the fourth-coldest game in the history of Soldier Field and they should be better prepared to deal with the winter conditions once again this week.
Last 5 Results:
| 12/18/16 | GB | L 27-30 | W 4.5 | O 40 |
| 12/11/16 | @DET | L 17-20 | W 7.5 | U 42 |
| 12/04/16 | SF | W 26-6 | W PK | U 44 |
| 11/27/16 | TEN | L 21-27 | W 6.5 | O 41.5 |
| 11/20/16 | @NYG | L 16-22 | W 7 | U 41.5 |
Quick Analysis
Washington is 4-1 straight up and against the spread in their last five road games but they haven’t had to deal with the type of cold temperatures they will face in Chicago this weekend. Meanwhile, the Bears have covered five straight despite a 1-4 record straight up over that span and they are still getting more than a field goal for this matchup with the Redskins.
Prediction
The combination of the cold weather and the fact that the Bears are playing some decent football of late should be enough to take them against a Washington team that is coming off a devastating blow in their loss to Carolina on Monday night. Looking back over the last month, the Bears lost by six at the New York Giants, beat the San Francisco 49ers, lost by three at the Detroit Lions and lost by three at home to the Green Bay Packers last week. Those are all playoff-caliber teams.
The Redskins are on a short week and will have a difficult time covering more than a field goal against a Chicago side that is 5-0 against the spread in their last five games heading into this contest.
Pick: Bears +3.5
Note: Lines subject to change leading up to kick-off, so please be aware of the possibility of line movements.
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