They may not have wanted one, but the Chicago Bears have a quarterback controversy. Despite all efforts to quash any such talk prior to the start of the season, Mitchell Trubisky played well enough in his first preseason game that he has to at least be given the chance to win the starting job over the rest of training camp and preseason. Trubisky will get another chance to prove this when he leads the Bears against the Arizona Cardinals this weekend.
This matchup in Week 2 of the preseason will take place on Saturday, August 19, 2017, at 10 p.m. ET at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.
Week 2 NFL Preseason Opening Odds at BookMaker.eu
Chicago Bears +3
Arizona Cardinals -3
Over/Under 40.5
Odds Analysis
Arizona used its starters to jump out to an early lead last week against Oakland and held on the rest of the way for a 20-10 win. The Cardinals defense was able to effectively stop Connor Cook, but veteran EJ Manuel moved the ball relatively well. That’s something to keep an eye on although last week’s game went under.
The Bears defense was pretty solid against the Broncos despite allowing 24 points. The first touchdown that Denver scored was a pick-six from Mike Glennon and Denver only scored three points on offense until there were 10 minutes to go in the game. Chicago failed to get the cover in the 24-17 loss and the game went over the total.
Matchup to Watch
General Manager Ryan Pace decided that the Bears needed to rebuild around a new quarterback this offseason and is gambling that either Trubisky or Mike Glennon pans out. Although Glennon was seen as the sure starter because of the lucrative deal he signed, he was pretty bad against Denver in the preseason opener. Glennon completed just two of eight passes for 20 yards and threw the aforementioned pick-six.
Trubisky was far more impressive during his time leading the offense. Although he went against lesser competition than Glennon, it’s hard to call his first game anything but a success. He completed 72 percent of his passes for 166 yards and a score and showed off his legs by running for 38 yards as well.
The thought was that Glennon would start this season, or at least most of this season, and Trubisky would slowly learn the ropes. Trubisky only started for one year at North Carolina and wasn’t as polished as most quarterbacks are when they enter the league.
However, it might be time to rethink that if Trubisky outplays Glennon again. Both quarterbacks will probably get an extended look this time against Arizona as the team tries to see who really is the better option.
Key Injuries
The Cardinals haven’t had any major injuries that will hurt their chances of regular season success like other teams, but one position group has been particularly banged up.
Arizona’s wide receivers can’t seem to catch a break. Four members of the wide receivers corps are listed on the injury report and all have missed either practice or game action. What’s worse is that only one of those is someone who is probably training camp fodder.
Brittan Golden has been with the Cardinals on and off over the last four years and is competing for a roster spot. He is nursing a groin injury suffered in the win over Oakland and has been out of practice the last couple days.
John Brown has been limited for the last two weeks after injuring his quad around the start of training camp. He and JJ Nelson are battling to see who will be paired with Larry Fitzgerald outside and being sidelined has done him no favors.
The one bit of good news this position has received is that Chad Williams is a full participant in practice again. Williams was a third-round selection out of Grambling with plenty of raw talent and needs practice more than almost anyone on the team.
Free ATS Pick
You’ve got to go with Chicago in this one. The Bears are going to want to settle the Trubisky vs. Glennon debate as quickly as possible and the best way to do that is with both QBs seeing significant time against Arizona. Meanwhile, the Cardinals are just looking to get healthy and won’t have as much of an interest in playing their starters.
Week 2 NFL Preseason Odds: Bears 27, Cardinals 17
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