Sneaking by in a few games with a backup quarterback, the Chicago Bears hope to have their full arsenal intact when they host the Los Angeles Rams in a key NFC matchup to conclude Sunday’s Week 14 slate of games. The surprising leaders of the North are expecting to have Mitchell Trubisky back after he missed the last two games with an injury. The Bears could certainly use him against the Rams high-scoring offense. We should also see some standout defensive play with the last two DPOY’s taking the field and each looking to add another trophy to the collection.
Watch this Week 14 regular season matchup live on Sunday, December 9, 2018, at 8:20 p.m. ET at Soldier Field.
Opening NFL Odds at BookMaker.eu
Los Angeles Rams -3
Chicago Bears +3
Over/Under 52
The Rams checked off the first box on their 2018 to-do list, securing their second straight NFC West title by knocking off the Lions last week. And a good sign for them was the play of the defense, which had been shredded in three previous games. The resurgence on that side of the football coincided with the return of Aqib Talib to the secondary and the Rams limited Matthew Stafford to 245 passing yards.
It’s all about the offense for the Rams, though, and after a slow start in Detroit they put things together and managed to score 30 points for the 10th time in 12 games. It wasn’t a typical offensive performance for the Rams, but it was effective. Jared Goff looked a little rusty coming off the bye, so they turned to Todd Gurley, who picked up the slack.
Gurley had an off-game by his standards in the previous outing against the Chiefs. In a game where the Rams scored 54 points and amassed 455 yards of offense, Gurley didn’t score and totaled 94 yards from scrimmage. Usually, when an opponent neutralizes your top offensive threat the result is a loss. Not in the Rams case. They won that game you might remember and they got Gurley back in form last week. With Goff throwing for only 207 yards, Gurley did the heavy lifting with 132 rushing yards and two touchdowns. He leads the NFL with 15 rushing touchdowns
Gurley and the Rams will be tested against the league’s second-best run defense, but their diversity on offense is what makes the Rams so difficult to defend. They will run the football because they have the best in the league at doing that. But the Rams will also go for the big play over the top. Goff has adjusted to not having Cooper Kupp in the lineup and he’s developed a close bond with Brandin Cooks. Look for those two to hook up several times on the live betting lines at BookMaker.eu and also prop wager on Gurley getting into the end zone at some point. He does after all lead the league in scoring with 19 total touchdowns.
Chicago is hoping to have Trubisky back for the Sunday night affair, which would be a welcome sight for Bears fans. The Bears split a pair of games with Chase Daniel filling while Trubisky recovered from a shoulder ailment, and they should have had both if not for the failings of the backup. The good news is that Chicago didn’t lose any ground in the division with the Vikings losing on Sunday.
Trubisky hasn’t played in three weeks and he’s coming off an injury to his throwing shoulder, so it’s tough to expect him at his finest. And with the reigning defensive player of the year on the other side of the football, the No. 2 overall pick from 2017 might reconsider his options for playing time. But this is an opportunity for the Bears to again show that they are for real. Even though they’ve won eight games and lead the NFC North there are still some doubters. One player contributing to the offense in a big way is Tarik Cohen, and you can expect him to be used in a variety of ways on Sunday. He’ll get some carries but Cohen has value out of the backfield as a pass catcher to slow the Rams pass rush. He’s shifty enough to snap a few ankles much like Tyreek Hill in KC, so you can place a wager on him exceeding his receiving yard total on a prop bet at BookMaker.eu.
Rams at Bears Live Betting
We saw the Rams and Chiefs combine for 105 points and over 1,000 yards of offense a few weeks ago, but there were three defensive touchdowns. And both these teams are opportunistic with standouts on that side of the football. There will be a few turnovers with Khalil Mack and Aaron Donald involved, and we could even see another defensive score. That adds up to short fields and more points, so playing the over on the game total on the live betting line at BookMaker.eu is an aggressive but smart play.
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