No team had a rougher week last week than the San Diego Chargers. Not only did they lose to Baltimore to effectively end their season, but they also had 13 different players leave that game due to injury. It's a wonder how in the heck they're going to field enough warm bodies to play against the Chicago Bears on Monday Night Football this week.
ODDS ANALYSIS
The Chargers opened up the week at -4.5 and have since dipped to -4 at BookMaker.eu. The total in this game has taken a sharp downturn from 52 to 49.
This movement seems to parallel the recent injury news for both teams. Matt Forte won't likely be playing in this one for the Bears, while Keenan Allen was put on IR for the Chargers this week. That's only the beginning of the problem for these teams though, and live bettors are going to have to make a lot of changes on the fly with many of the substitutions getting their first serious playing time of the year.
WHEN THE CHICAGO BEARS HAVE THE BALL
The Chicago passing game is going to look a lot different this week. Alshon Jeffrey is still around, but both Eddie Royal and Forte are likely to be out. We saw at the end of last week's game against Minnesota that Jeremy Langford, Forte's replacement, just isn't the same route runner or pass catcher that Forte is. We also doubt Marquess Wilson is as good of a possession receiver as Royal.
That's going to put a lot of pressure on both Jeffrey and Martellus Bennett. Both men could be in for big games, but the fact of the matter is that the San Diego secondary and linebackers can key in on their targets now, knowing that there are really only going to be two or three legitimate receiving threats in the game at any given time.
Jay Cutler still has his primetime problem to get over as well, as his history of playing on Monday Night Football isn't exactly stellar.
Among the walking wounded here for the Chargers which need to be watched are Eric Weddle, Manti Te'o and literally all four corners from last week's game. Keep a really close eye on the men rotation into that San Diego defense and see how they're reacting to game play, knowing that most of these guys who are going to be out there are either going to be banged up are won't have played on the team before in any legitimate role. Live bettors should be able to get a good read and beat the system one way or the other.
WHEN THE SAN DIEGO CHARGERS HAVE THE BALL
It wouldn't be shocking if Philip Rivers threw for 500 yards with five high school kids as his receivers, but he's still tremendously handicapped now that Allen is done for the year. What's worse is that the man who probably would've ended up getting more reps, LaDarius Green, is likely sitting this game out with an ankle problem, too.
For our money, that means more Danny Woodhead and less Melvin Gordon, and that's going to take away the element of the power running game and make the Bolts more predictable.
Live bettors should be ready for a lot of big plays out of the San Diego offense, but there are going to be a lot of clock stoppages as well thanks to incomplete passes. The trend feels like it should be towards the over, especially knowing that the Chargers are on a two-game over streak, but one-dimensional offenses don't often push games over the total in this league unless your quarterback's name happens to be Tom Brady.
Chicago's defense isn't good, but the unit came up big last week against the Vikings for three and a half quarters until things fell apart.
But that's the key for the Bears in football live betting. They've allowed 52 points in the fourth quarters of games this year, and that isn't going to cut it if that keeps up in this one on the road against a gritty Rivers and the San Diego offense.
BookMaker offers play-by-play betting odds for live sporting events every day! The user-friendly wagering interface on your smartphone provides an easy way to place bets on the go. Mobile betting lines are updated by the minute, so click here to start gambling on thrilling live action at BookMaker Sportsbook! The duel between the Chicago Bears and San Diego Chargers will go down Monday, November 9, 2015 at 8:30 p.m. ET at Qualcomm Stadium. The game will be televised live on ESPN.
