The Jets crashed and burned last weekend, while the Bears took a keep-your-head-high loss to Tom Brady and the New England Patriots. Back to back tough losses for the Bears have them primed to take it out on the sputtering Jets.
Las Vegas and top online betting sites have listed the Bears as 7-point favorites next Sunday. The Total opened up at 46 but is sinking like a hot knife through butter. To learn more about betting NFL games, check this sports betting guide.
Turnovers Galore
The Jets have been struggling with turnovers. Same Darnold dropped three INTs into the arms of Viking defenders. Darnold also had an ugly hand-off to Isaiah Crowell resulting in a fumble. Mitch Trubisky had a pair of interceptions against the Patriots, but he also threw for 333 yards and two touchdowns.
The Bears defense has a great opportunity to add to their already astounding turnover numbers. 17 over the last six games could turn into 20 or more over seven version the fumble and INT-beleaguered Jets offense.
The Jets have shown flashes of brilliance, but they have been extremely inconsistent. In fact, the most consistent thing they have going for them is their inconsistency. That, and the fact that when they face a solid defense, they seem to fall apart from all ends. Even the coaching seems to get more passive and even mistake prone. Pressure and a couple of forced turnovers from the Bears will be the catalyst to start the chain reaction to complete and total breakdown that we have seen from the NY Jets this season.
Statistical Advantage
The Chicago Bears home offense is eight points better than the Jets road offense. New York has been averaging 25.7 points per game on the road, while the Bears have been putting up 34.3 points per game in Soldier Field.
Defensively, the Bears are allowing a point and change less than the Jets in a home vs. away situation. The NYJ defense is 11th in the league on the highway, allowing 23 points per game. That said, the Bears home defense is 11th, allowing just 21.7 points on average.
Being a non-conference matchup, these two teams don’t go head to head often. But in the six games that these two have played in recent history, the Chicago Bears hold a 4-2 margin of victory. The Jets are also horrible on the road, dropping seven of their last eight away from East Rutherford. Another factor to consider is the Jets haven’t covered the point spread against the bears in the last five times that they’ve faced the Bears in any environment.
Resurging Bears Offense, Sputtering Jets Offense
It’s been a slow start for Tarik Cohen this year. However, over the last couple of games, Trubisky has started to work him into the passing game more and more. In the past three games, Cohen has been targeted 30 times and piled up 388 all-purpose yards. He is the perfect weapon to add explosive chaos against this Jets defense.
The Jets are beat-up at wide receiver. They just signed Rishard Matthews, but one new addition who doesn’t yet know the playbook isn’t going to be enough. Not only is Sam Darnold a streaky rookie, but he also doesn’t have any reliable targets at the moment.
Both of these teams can score. The Jets have a knack for putting up some points even in defeat so we should expect a fairly high scoring game. The point spread is rather large at seven, but the Bears can cover that in this situation. Minimum, da Bears should be among your Week 8 survivor picks.
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