Bears Blitz

Published by Jimmy Boyd on October 2, 2010
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Chicago Bears

While Chicago is the last unbeaten team in the NFC, it appears NFL odds-makers aren’t sold. In fact, they have listed the Bears as a four-point underdog with the total set at 44 for their Sunday night contest with the 1-2 New York Giants.

The 3-0 Bears are off to their best start since the 2006 season when they started 7-0 and went on to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl.

Right now, Chicago, which went 7-9 last season, is still considered one of the biggest surprises in the league. The Bears may gain a few more believers if they can win at New York on Sunday.

For New York, the sentiment has been disappointment.  Since a 31-18 win over Carolina in Week 1, the Giants have been blown out by Indianapolis and Tennessee.

The outstanding play of quarterback Jay Cutler is a big reason why Chicago is off to a strong start. Cutler has looked like a completely different quarterback than the one who led the league with 26 interceptions in 2009. Thus far, Cutler has thrown for 870 yards with six touchdowns and only two interceptions.

While Cutler has done a better job of taking care of the football, Eli Manning has been giving it away at an alarming rate. He is tied for the most interceptions in the league with Minnesota’s Brett Favre. They have both thrown six picks. In all, the Giants have committed 10 turnovers, which is tied for the second-most in the league.

If New York continues to be careless with the football, it won’t have a very good shot this week.

Known for their strong special teams play in the past, Chicago rediscovered some of that mojo last week when Devin Hester had a 62-yard punt return for a touchdown and a 28-yard return to set up Chicago’s first score.  The Giants won’t be kicking to Hester if they know what’s good for them.

Turning back the pages of the history book, we find that the Giants have lost their last five regular-season home meetings to the Bears. It is also interesting to note that the winner of the last two meetings (2006 and 2007) has gone to the Super Bowl.

Getting down and dirty with the numbers, we find that the road team is a perfect 5-0 against the spread in the last five meetings. 

Considering the Chicago defense has been downright stingy against the run, allowing only 39.7 yards per game on the ground to lead the NFL, Manning may have to win this one through the air.

Led by Ahmad Bradshaw, the Giants have managed to break the century mark in each of their first three games, but there isn’t expected to be as much running room against the Bears this week.

The Bears have been susceptible to the pass, allowing Tony Romo and Aaron Rodgers to torch them the last two weeks. Despite only giving up 148 passing yards to Detroit in Week 1, the Bears rank 28th in the NFL in passing defense, allowing 279.3 yards per game.

Manning has piled up a lot of yards (810), and has the potential for a big game, but he’ll have to avoid turnovers to win Sunday. He may also have to avoid Chicago defensive end Julius Peppers, who had a very solid game against Green Bay last week.

Last week’s embarrassing performance could be just what New York needed to get going. It is certainly worth noting that the Giants are 5-1-1 against the spread in their last seven games following a double-digit loss at home. 

Jimmy Boyd gave you the Jets/Dolphins Over for an easy winner with his NFL picks on Sunday Night Football last week. Bet with confidence again this Sunday night by seeing who Jimmy is playing first!

Read more Chicago Bears news on BleacherReport.com