Lions vs. Bears Point Spread: NFL Week 4 Odds, Prediction
The Chicago Bears officially have a quarterback problem, as rookie Justin Fields crashed and burned in his first carer start last week. Chicago fell 26-6 to the Cleveland Browns in Week 3, in what many are considering a historically bad NFL debut from Fields. It’s unclear who will be under centre for the Bears when they host Detroit in Week 4. The Lions just missed out on a massive upset against Baltimore last week, after an NFL-record 66-yard field goal resulted in a 19-17 loss for Detroit.
Chicago is a 2.5-point favourite to win on the NFL odds, with a total of 42.5.
NFL Point Spread and Betting Analysis
These teams split their two meetings last year, with the road team winning each contest. The total went Over in both games. Sports Interaction bettors clearly watched Detroit and Chicago’s Week 3 games, as 82 per cent of action is taking the visiting Lions. The total is a closer split, with the Under favoured just above 50 per cent.
Detroit has struggled heavily in divisional games, dropping 12 of their last 13 against NFC North opponents. They’re also riding a seven-game losing streak, dating back to last season, although they’ve managed to cover in two of three games this year. The Lions are 1-4 against the spread in their last five roads games and 2-4 ATS in their last six games against Chicago. The total has gone Over in nine of Detroit’s last 13 games, including two of three this season.
Conference games haven’t been good for the Bears, as they’ve lost eight of their last nine games against NFC opponents. They’re 1-2 straight up this year, but they’ve failed to cover in two of those three games. The total has gone Under in 15 of Chicago’s last 20 home games, but it’s actually gone Over in four of their last six against Detroit.
Detroit Lions
It had to be crushing for Detroit fans to wake up Monday morning knowing the Lions were a fourth-and-19 stop from beating Baltimore, only to eventually lose on an NFL-record 66-yard field goal that bounced off the lower bar and over. There were positives, however, as Jared Goff’s offence almost upset one of the AFC’s top teams over the last few seasons. Goff has looked good this year and finished Sunday 22-for-30 with 217 passing yards for a 99.3 passer rating, although he didn’t throw a touchdown.
D’Andre Swift and Jamaal Williams both had big running games. Swift rushed for 47 yards and a touchdown, while Williams added 42 yards and a score. Swift also added 60 receiving yards on seven catches.
Defensively, the Lions held Lamar Jackson to 250 passing yards, before Jackson burned them with a 36-yard throw to Sammy Watkins to set up the record breaking field goal. Detroit also held Jackson to 58 rushing yards and sacked him four times.
As far as injuries go, linebacker Trey Flowers did not play last week because of knee and shoulder injuries. Neither injury looks serious, but there’s been no update on his status for this week. Another linebacker was released on Tuesday. Detroit originally tried to trade Jamie Collins after he struggled in the first two games of the season, but the Lions ultimately released the nine-year NFL vet after not finding a deal for him.
Chicago Bears
It’s probably a fair guess to say all the yelling in Chicago for Fields to take over as starter has probably died down a bit. Fields’ first career NFL start went about as bad as it possibly could have. He was sacked a ridiculous nine times and completed just six of 20 pass attempts for 68 yards. The rookie had X-rays on his throwing hand following the game, but they came back negative. Fields was starting in place of Andy Dalton, who doesn’t look ready to return from his knee injury. There’s no word on who will start this week between Fields, Dalton and Nick Foles.
There’s also a potentially impactful injury on the defence. Star linebacker Khalil Mack was forced to leave last week’s game in the first half with a sprained foot. He did return in the third quarter and finish the game with two sacks, but he was noticeably limping, so it’s worth monitoring. Linebacker Joel Iyiegbuniwe left in the third quarter with a hamstring injury and did not return. There’s been no update on his status for this week.
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