The Chicago Bears and Atlanta Falcons both have to feel that they let games slip away this past week. These teams aren’t done with half of their seasons, but they really need to win now.
NFL Picks: Chicago Bears @ Atlanta Falcons
Sunday, October 12th – 4:25 PM ET
Odds: Atlanta (-3)
Why The Bears Will Cover
They have the quarterback who can throw a lot of completions for a lot of yards. They just need to be able to cut out turnovers. It is true that teams with turnover problems are generally bad ones, but it is also true that good teams make mistakes and go through difficult portions of a season before being able to straighten things out as the season goes along. The Bears could very well fall into this category.
Jay Cutler did not have a terrible game on Sunday against the Carolina Panthers. He was actually fairly strong for most of the day. He completed 28 of 36 passes, which is just above 75 percent in terms of completions. It’s more than the completion percentage which was impressive, though. Cutler completed over 75 percent of a high number of passes. It would have been very different if he had completed 75 percent of 20 passes. Cutler threw the ball a lot and was very accurate. The only problem? He did throw two interceptions on what was otherwise a fairly credible day. If Cutler can just make a few better reads during the course of a game, the Bears can get over the hump and become the better team they know they’re capable of becoming.
What should help the Bears feel confident about this game is that Atlanta has a weak defense, one Cutler should be able to pick apart. The Falcons were overwhelmed by the Minnesota Vikings a few weeks ago, and they allowed 20 points in the final 18 minutes this past weekend against the New York Giants. Chicago has to think it has a workable matchup.
Why The Falcons Will Cover
They are playing at home, and Chicago is just coming off a road game against a different NFC South opponent in which it lost in the fourth quarter. The Falcons might have collapsed against the Giants this past week, but they will look at Chicago and see a team that’s no better than they are. The Bears, like the Falcons, took the fight to their opponent on the road last week.
The Falcons led the Giants 20-10 midway through the third, but the Bears did even better in their road game against the Carolina Panthers. Chicago busted out to a 21-7 lead early in the second quarter because Cutler was on such a roll. However, as soon as things looked good for the Bears, they stopped playing offense, and Cutler threw the pair of crucial interceptions that helped fuel Carolina’s comeback. Chicago scored just three points over the final 40 minutes of this game. If Cutler plays a turnover-free game, Atlanta’s in trouble, but that’s the point – Cutler’s not likely to play a turnover-free game.
Outlook
The Bears, going up against Atlanta’s passing game in a dome, are going to face a tough challenge on defense without “Peanut” Tillman in the secondary. Atlanta should be able to drive the ball well enough to win and outscore Chicago in a shootout.
Pick: Falcons (-3)
