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The Detroit Lions are among a muddled group of teams in the NFC hovering around .500 and fighting for playoff positioning. They need to keep piling up the wins and have a chance at a road victory in Week 11 against the Chicago Bears.
Chicago has been inconsistent this season and it’s hard to know how it will do on defense against a solid Lions’ passing game. However, the temperatures are dropping, and if the weather becomes a factor that will help Chicago.
The Bears are home underdogs but not overwhelmingly so, and would love to pick up this win as they aim to build for the future.
Kickoff for this regular season Week 11 game is set for Sunday, November 19, 2017, at 1 p.m. ET at Soldier Field.
Opening NFL Odds at BookMaker.eu
Detroit Lions -3
Chicago Bears +3
Over/Under 43
Odds Analysis
The Lions are road favorites and the betting public is jumping on them, as nearly 77 percent of the money is on Detroit to cover the spread. The scoring total is a bit higher than expected considering Chicago’s difficulty scoring the ball, and not surprisingly the “under” has been the much more popular choice by the betting public.
Player To Watch
Matthew Stafford – The Lions’ veteran quarterback didn’t have the strongest of starts Sunday against the Browns, but he rallied back in the second half to help Detroit to its second straight win. Stafford finished 17-of-26 passing for 249 yards with three touchdowns and an interception.
Stafford has been solid for the Lions all season long and has been particularly strong lately, with Sunday’s interception marking his first in three games. He has 17 touchdowns and five interceptions on the season with three of those interceptions coming in the same game – a loss to New Orleans on October 15.
The Lions don’t have much of a running game and Chicago is pretty adept at slowing one down anyway, so the outcome of this game could very well ride on the right arm of Stafford and his ability to find his playamakers.
Matchup to Watch
Bears’ rushing game against the Lions’ run defense -- This will be a key part of Sunday’s contest as Jordan Howard and company take on a Lions defense that is only allowing 89.9 rushing yards a game this year.
With the struggles at quarterback this year for the Bears, the run game is paramount to get going. Chicago’s run offense ranks sixth in the NFL with 130.1 rushing yards a game.
Howard has handled the bulk of the carries this year for Chicago and has ran the ball 162 times for 662 yards and four touchdowns. Tarik Cohen has accumulated 228 yards on the ground on 54 carries. They are a thunder and lightning duo, as Howard does the dirty work and wears down defenses while Cohen has the ability to hit for big plays either getting the ball on handoffs or on short passes.
Free ATS Pick
The Bears should be able to hang around in this one provided they get the run game going. However, the Lions have a big advantage at quarterback. While Chicago rookie signal-caller Mitchell Trubisky is getting better as the year goes along, he is still not being leaned on very heavily to make things happen.
Stafford should be able to make some big plays and get his team the victory. Chicago will have a chance to win at the end but will fall just short. There are going to be some tense moments for bettors as time ticks down in the fourth quarter, but the right choice is to go with the Lions to cover the spread and the “under” to hit. Bettors can exhale when the clocks finally hits zero.
NFL Odds: Lions 21, Bears 17
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