The Detroit Lions are hanging around in the NFC playoff race, but need to dominate down the stretch and get some help in order to qualify for the postseason. They have a very winnable game next time out when they host the Chicago Bears in Week 15 of the regular season.
Detroit is 7-6 this year but might need to win out in order to have a shot at the playoffs. They are aiming for a wild card berth as the Minnesota Vikings are going to win the NFC North. The Bears are rounding out last place in the division but did have an impressive victory last time out. They aren’t going to make the postseason but hope to gain some momentum down the stretch with a rookie quarterback in Mitchell Trubisky.
This contest in Week 15 of the regular season will go down Saturday, December 16, 2017, at 4:30 p.m. ET at Ford Field.
Opening NFL Odds at BookMaker.eu
Chicago Bears +6.5
Detroit Lions -6.5
Over/Under 43.5
Odds Analysis
The Lions opened as touchdown favorites and that has dropped a half-point as there is some support for Chicago after its dominant win over the Bengals. Early on in the week, more than 57 of the action is on the Bears to cover this spread.
The scoring total is middle of the road, as the Bears don’t score a lot of points but the Lions are liable to get into more shootouts because of their propensity to pass. The “under” is the more popular choice, with more than 60 percent of the action heading that way thus far.
Player To Watch
Trubisky — The Bears’ quarterback has made great strides forward as a rookie. He started slowly but four of his past five games. Trubisky has registered a quarterback rating of 88.1 or better in those games, with the only dud coming against a tough Eagles squad in a blowout loss.
Trubisky put together his finest game of the season on Sunday, completing 25-of-32 passes for 271 yards with a passing touchdown and another one on the ground. Chicago selected him with the No. 2 overall pick in the draft to be the franchise guy, and these recent signs are good.
The Lions have a couple of excellent players in the secondary in Darius Slay and Glover Quin, but overall the Detroit defense isn’t dominant and this is a game in which Trubisky would love to keep building on his recent performances.
Last Meeting
These two teams played a few weeks back, and the Lions squeaked out a 27-24 win. The Bears held a 17-10 lead in the second quarter and the game was tied at 24 in the fourth, but Matt Prater hit a field goal as the Lions came away with the road victory.
They are bigger favorites now that the location has moved to Detroit, but the Bears have to feel good about their chance to hang around. Jordan Howard dominated this one on the ground, racking up 125 rushing yards on only 15 carries, so the Bears would love to ride him and big-play running back Tarik Cohen.
Matthew Stafford had a strong game for the Lions in the first matchup and should be able to duplicate that at home.
Free ATS Pick
It is easy to understand why the Bears are picking up some momentum, as they have some young players who have shown signs of growth in recent weeks. However, progress is not always linear and this is a tough game on the road against a strong opponent.
The Lions aren’t as good as teams like the Seahawks, Panthers, Falcons and Panthers, so it seems unlikely they make the postseason, but that dream will remain alive for one more week as Detroit should not have much of a problem winning this game.
The half-point drop is critical as the Lions are now the choice to cover instead of the game resulting in a push.
NFL Odds: Lions 27, Bears 20
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