Tom Brady and the New England Patriots are rolling once again after they edged past the New York Jets on Thursday to record their third straight victory. They can stretch their winning streak to four when they face the struggling Chicago Bears who have lost three of their last four games.
Read on for a complete preview of this showdown and while you’re at it, you can check out our preview of the Sunday Night Football game between the Green Bay Packers and the New Orleans Saints here.
[sc:Football ]Chicago Bears vs. New England Patriots Preview
When: Sunday, October 26, 1:00 PM ET
Where: Gillette Stadium, Foxborough
Line: Chicago Bears (+7) at New England Patriots (-7); total: 49.5 – view all NFL lines
Betting on the Chicago Bears
There’s no such thing as homefield advantage for the Chicago Bears after they were thumped by the Miami Dolphins 27-14 on Sunday to crash to their third defeat at Soldier Field this season.
[sc:NFL240banner ]The Bears had no answer for quarterback Ryan Tannehill who had his best performance for the Dolphins this season, throwing for 277 yards on 25 of 32 passing with two touchdowns. The same can’t be said about their own QB Jay Cutler who once again struggled completing just 21 of 34 passes for 190 yards with one touchdown and a pick.
The Bears are now 0-4 when Cutler throws at least one interception in a game this season. Wide receiver Brandon Marshall summed up the Bears’ feelings after the game by saying, “It’s unacceptable. We’re 3-4. It’s halfways into the season. It’s unacceptable. Want me to say it again? Unacceptable.”
Fortunately for Cutler and the Bears, their next game against the New England Patriots this coming Sunday is going to be on the road. The Bears have fared much better away from home, compiling a 3-1 record so far this season.
Cutler has also performed much better on the road, passing for an average of 267.8 yards per game in his four road assignments while also dishing out nine touchdowns and just two interceptions. Compare that to his stat line at Soldier Field where he has already thrown five interceptions and just five touchdowns in three games there with a passing average of 265.0 yards per game.
It won’t get much easier for Cutler and the Bears, though, even though they are on the road, cause they will face in the Patriots, the best passing defense in the league today. The Patriots secondary have allowed just 208.0 passing yards this season.
The Bears are 3-4 ATS this season.
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Betting on the New England Patriots
The New England Patriots extended their winning streak to three games but not before surviving a mighty scare from the New York Jets as they edged past their AFC East rivals 27-25 in a thrilling Thursday night showdown.
New England defensive tackle Chris Jones made amends from his mistake last year blocking Nick Folk’s 58-yard field goal attempt this time around to preserve the two-point advantage and send them one game clear of the Buffalo Bills at the top of the AFC East.
It was running back Shane Vereen who was the man of the match for New England as he caught five passes for 71 yards and two touchdowns in addition to his 43 rushing yards to lead the Patriots attack that were surprisingly dominated by the 9 ½ point underdog Jets.
The Jets outgained the Patriots 423-323 in total offense and recorded more first downs (28-16) as well. As a result, the Patriots had control of the ball for only 19 minutes and six seconds and that is an issue that they will need to address when they square off with the Bears this coming Sunday.
The Bears are 11th in scoring this season, averaging 22.4 points per game. They’re even a more potent offensive team on the road averaging 26.5 points in their travels so far this season.
The one thing going for the Patriots, however, is the return to form of quarterback Tom Brady. After suffering a 41-14 humiliation at Kansas City three weeks ago, the three-time Super Bowl champion has posted an average of 304.7 passing yards in his three games since, with a total of nine touchdowns and zero interceptions.
He will also take heart in the fact that the last time he faced the Bears back in 2010, he led the Patriots to a convincing 36-7 win where he threw for 369 yards and two touchdowns.
The Patriots are 3-0 SU at home this season.
Writer’s Prediction
The Patriots beat the Bears by a touchdown.
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