The Chicago Bears are not just six-point road dogs against the Cincinnati Bengals. People who bet on NFL could actually watch them get slaughtered in more ways than one, should the latter decided to ‘play’ like they did in Monday’s 20-23 loss to the Steelers. The Bengals blew a 17-point lead and lost players to suspension and injury, but that’s not likely considering not only that Chi Town and Cincy aren’t rivals but also the backlash to Monday’s mêlée.
- Date: Sunday, 10th December
- Time: 1:05 PM
- Venue: Paul Brown Stadium
Online Sportsbook American Football Betting Odds:
Bears +6 (-115) 38 (-110)
Bengals -6 (-105) 38 (-110)
A bit of the old ultraviolence
Bengals safety George Iloka hit Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown in the end zone in the fourth quarter when Brown was considered a defenseless receiver. In a textbook case of double whammy, not only did Brown hold on to the ball for the game-tying score, but Iloka was suspended for one game as a result. “The Competition Committee has clearly expressed its goal of ‘eliminating flagrant hits that have no place in our game’ and has encouraged the League office to suspend offenders for egregious violations such as the one you committed last night,” NFL vice president of football operations Jon Runyan addressed Iloka. To add injury to insult, linebacker Vontaze Burfict, running back Joe Mixon, and cornerback Dre Kirkpatrick were all place in concussion protocol. The many reactions to the carnage on the field included such platitudes as this:
Tonight in Cincinnati a lot of truly terrible things happened. One NFL team scored more than the other, but nobody “won.”#steelers #bengals
— Rob Rossi (@Real_RobRossi) December 5, 2017
That couldn’t be farther from the truth, though, as people who bet on NFL know will tell you. The Steelers got the SU win while the Bengals got the ATS win, their fourth straight. By the way, Cincy is 4-0 ATS in their last four games playing NFC North teams, and 2-7 SU in their last nine in Week 14.
Bears need to pick up the pace (and perhaps get rid of Pace)
“The reality is that this game destroys people’s brains,” Bob Costas said a propos of the Steelers-Bengals bloodbath. In completely unrelated news, former Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher said, and we quote, “I just hope they keep coach Fox around long enough to turn this thing around so he can see the fruits of his labor with this defense.” or is it unrelated? Fox has the worst winning percentage in franchise history at .273 with a 12-32 record, which is general manager Ryan Pace’s record as well. In spite of Urlacher’s best, or worst, as the case may be, wishes, it’s clear to fans who bet on NFL that the Pace/Fox tandem is this close to getting the Jerry Reese/Ben McAdoo severance package. The Bears have lost five games straight and gone 1-3-1 ATS in the same period. moreover, Chicago is 1-5-1 ATS in their last seven games against the Bengals, 6-15 ATS in their last 21 in Week 14, 2-5 ATS in the last seven playing a team with a losing record, 1-5 ATS in the last six on the road, and 0-4-1 ATS in their last five overall.