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Jeremy Perry
Bears vs. Buccaneers Point Spread: NFL Week 7 Odds, Prediction
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are 5-1 on the season and are the Super Bowl favourite. On Sunday, they’re expected to move to 6-1 as they’re a double-digit favourite at home to the Chicago Bears. The Bears continue to roll with rookie Justin Fields under center and while the mood in Chicago is positive, the results are quite tepid.
NFL Point Spread and Betting Analysis
The Bears haven’t fared well against winning teams as they’re 2-5 against the spread (ATS) in their last seven against teams with a winning record. They’re also 1-5 ATS in their last six as an underdog.
As for the Bucs, they failed to cover last week but are 6-1 ATS in their last seven following an ATS loss. They’re also 6-1 ATS in their last seven at home.
Chicago Bears
The Bears have handed Justin Fields the keys to the car but the results have been mixed so far. At times, he’s able to move the ball and avoid turnovers, and at other times, it looks like the same ol’ broken Bears offence. Fields’ stats don’t look great as his 23.4 QBR is 31st in the NFL and he has just 494 passing yards, two touchdowns and two picks in his last three games. He’s yet to complete more than 16 passes in an NFL game; if the Bucs turn this into a shootout, the Bears are in trouble.
The big concern for the Bears here is that they’ve been walloped by some of the better teams in the NFL and they’re up against another one this week. They’ve lost to the Los Angeles Rams, Cleveland Browns and Green Bay Packers, and each of those losses were by at least 10 points. It’s hard to trust them in this spot – especially on the road.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Bucs have been off since last Thursday and have to be feeling pretty good about themselves. Their only loss on the year was on the road to the Los Angeles Rams, who are one of the best teams in the league. They have had 10 days to prepare for this contest – one that should be pretty straightforward. However, the Bucs have had a number of close calls of late. They nearly blew a big second-half lead against the Philadelphia Eagles and they eked out a two-point win over the New England Patriots. Granted, both of those games were on the road but it does look like there are some cracks in the armour.
The one thing the Bucs have going for them is revenge. They lost to Chicago last year in a game where Brady was somewhat embarrassed when he forgot what down it was late in the game. Rest assured that he hasn’t forgotten that. That will likely lead to a focused effort from him and a big Bucs win.
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