NFL nut Kyle Robbins (@AhhYeahKyleYeah) shares his expert opinion on the best bets from Thursday night's action involving the Bears and Packers.
Chicago Bears @ Green Bay Packers | Friday 29th September 2017, 01:15 | Sky Sports
A divisional rivalry takes centre stage on Thursday night as the Chicago Bears head into Lambeau Field to take on Aaron Rodgers and his Green Bay Packers.
Chicago head into this match-up off the back of the back of an impressive win against the Pittsburgh Steelers, but they still remain underdogs to come out of Green Bay with a W, with the handicap set surprisingly low at seven points.
The Packers have dominated this contest over recent years, winning 15 of the last 19 against the Bears since Aaron Rodgers stepped into the quarterback role in 2008. And I reckon he’ll enhance that tally to 16 here.
Bears lost on the road
After beating the Steelers and coming within one play of defeating the Atlanta Falcons, Chicago’s home results to kick-off this season have been positive. But going off their one performance away from Solider Field, they could be in for a long night.
Off the back of a 29–7 trouncing from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, they’ll certainly be looking to be better on both sides of the ball, but given they have just a one touchdown advantage on the handicap, give me the Aaron Rodgers-led Packers -7 at home every day of the week at 51/50 with Marathon.
Packers’ offensive weapons
I think this Packers offence just has too many weapons for Chicago to handle. With the magician that is Rodgers ability to seemingly throw anyone open – and the fact he has Jordy Nelson, Randall Cobb, Davante Adam and last week’s star Geronimo Allison on the outside – its just the case of how many touchdowns Green Bay can score.
Whilst they struggle in the running game – averaging just 69 yards per-outing – they more than make up for with their passing attack. They’ve scored six passing touchdowns, compared to just two on the ground. Chicago’s defence hasn’t fared to well against the pass either, allowing on average, 238 yards per-game.
I see this being just another game where Rodgers’ arm makes the difference, and for where they struggle in the run game, he more than makes up for in the passing attack. Given the fact he’s thrown for over 300 yards in his first three games this season, over 284.5 passing yards with SkyBet at 10/11 looks extremely good.
Touchdown options
And if you, like myself, fancy him to throw one of his inevitable touchdown passes to his favourite end zone target Jordy Nelson, who already has three receiving touchdowns on the year, you can get a decent price of 6/5 with SkyBet.
Chicago’s offence, on the other hand, had a field day running the ball last Sunday against the Steelers, and if they’re to have any hope tonight, it’ll certainly be through that same method.
Off the back of rushing for 140 yards and two touchdowns, Jordan Howard ran all over Pittsburgh. Couple that with Tarik Cohen’s 78 yards, the two combined for 218 total rushing yards, whilst Mike Glennon was only able to put up 101 yards passing.
The Packers defence hasn’t fared too well against the run so far this season, giving up 110 rushing yards to the Bengals and 141 to Atlanta the week before so Chicago should try to exploit that weakness. Jordan Howard first Bears touchdown at 10/3 with SkyBet stands out.
There is, however, only so far a successful running game can take you in a game, if your quarterback struggles as much as Glennon has so far this season. And given that fact, Chicago under 18.5 points at 19/20 with Betway is a solid option.
Best Bets
Chicago Bears @ Green Bay Packers – Green Bay Packers -7 handicap (51/50 Marathon)
Chicago Bears @ Green Bay Packers – Chicago Bears under 18.5 points (19/20 Betway)
Chicago Bears @ Green Bay Packers – Aaron Rodgers over 284.5 passing yards (10/11 SkyBet)
Chicago Bears @ Green Bay Packers – Jordy Nelson anytime touchdown (6/5 SkyBet)
Chicago Bears @ Green Bay Packers – Jordan Howard first Chicago Bears touchdown (10/3 SkyBet)
