Sunday, September 13, 2015

Soldier Field

For Updated Odds on This Game Click Here

The Green Bay Packers face the Chicago Bears on Sunday at Soldier Field. The opening line for this matchup has the Packers as 6.5 point favorites and the over/under was set at 50. The Packers had a 10-7-1 ATS record last season, meaning they covered the spread 59% of the time. Their over/under record was 12-6-0. The Bears finished with an ATS record of 7-9-0, covering the spread 44% of the time. Their over/under record finished at 8-8-0.

For the Packers, Aaron Rodgers returns as one of the leagues best signal callers and will look to get the Packers off to a 1-0 start against a rebuilding Chicago team. Rodgers led the Packers in all passing facets last season, throwing for 4,381 yards with 38 touchdowns and only five interceptions. Rodgers completed 341 passes out of 520 attempts for a completion percentage of 66%. Rodgers will be missing his number one reciever from last season in Jordy Nelson, but in true Packer fashion, it's the next man up. Randall Cobb will be the number one wide reciever for Rodgers this season. Cobb caught 127 passes last season for 1,287 yards. He scored 12 touchdowns and had five games over 100 yards. Eddie Lacy will lead the Packers in the running game. Lacy ran for 1,139 yards last season over 246 carries for 4.6 yards per carry.

The Bears will once again be led by Jay Cutler. Cutler had a subpar 2014 season, throwing for 3,812 yards with 28 touchdowns and 18 interceptions. He'll be looking take care of the ball this season under new head coach John Fox. However, it will be difficult as many of his wide receivers are injured. Alshon Jeffery is questionable for their game but he is the leading receiver for the Bears. Jeffery caught 85 passes last season for 1,133 yards. He scored 10 touchdowns and went for over 100 yards three times in 2014. They'll lean heavily on the run game led by Matt Forte. Forte ran for 1,038 yards on 266 carries last season. He scored six rushing touchdowns as well. Forte is also one of the better receivers on the team, catching 102 passes for 808 yards and he scored four receiving touchdowns.

The Packers are 38-17 against the spread in their last 55 vs. the NFC North and 37-17-1 ATS in their last 55 games on grass. They are 2-6-1 ATS in their last 9 games in September. The over is 4-0 in the Packers last 4 games in Week 1, 7-1 in their last 8 games in September, and 9-3 in their last 12 games on grass. The over is also 9-3 in their last 12 vs. the NFC, 13-6 in their last 19 road games and 15-7 in their last 22 games overall.

The Bears are 4-9 ATS in their last 13 games on grass and 10-23 ATS in their last 33 vs. the NFC. They are 7-18-1 ATS in their last 26 home games and 4-11 ATS in their last 15 vs. the NFC North. The under is 5-1 in the Bears last 6 home games, 4-1 in their last 5 games on grass and 8-3 in their last 11 games in Week 1. The under is also 5-2 in their last 7 games overall and 5-2 in their last 7 vs. the NFC.

Head to head, the favorite is 8-1 ATS in their last 9 meetings. The Packers are 16-5 ATS in their last 21 meetings in Chicago and 21-8-1 ATS in their last 30 meetings while the road team is 4-1 ATS in their last 5 meetings. The under is 6-2 in the last 8 meetings in Chicago and 11-4 in the last 15 meetings.

Green Bay Betting Trends

Green Bay was 12-6-0 against the over/under last season

Green Bay had an ATS record of 10-7-1 last season

Chicago Betting Trends

Chicago was 8-8-0 against the over/under last season

Chicago had an ATS record of 7-9-0 last season

Injuries to Watch

Green Bay

08/31/15 WR Randall Cobb Shoulder probable Sunday vs Chicago
08/28/15 DT Letroy Guion Suspension expected to miss first 3 games of regular season
08/24/15 WR Jordy Nelson ACL out for season
07/19/15 DE Datone Jones Suspension expected to miss Sunday vs. Chicago

Chicago

09/04/15 WR Marquess Wilson Hamstring probable Sunday vs. Green Bay
09/04/15 WR Alshon Jeffery Calf probable Sunday vs. Green Bay
09/04/15 S Ryan Mundy Hip IR
09/04/15 WR Eddie Royal Hip probable Sunday vs. Green Bay
08/24/15 DT Jeremiah Ratliff Suspension expected to miss first 3 games of regular season
08/15/15 WR Kevin White Shin out indefinitely

Josh's Pick: Take Chicago

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