Two teams with awful defenses collide on Monday Night Football, when the reeling Chicago Bears host the playoff-minded Dallas Cowboys.
The Bears began the week as 1-point favorites, despite having lost two straight and three out of four overall. Chicago is last in the NFL in run defense.
The Cowboys have won two straight and are tied for first place in the NFC East, but the defense is struggling. Dallas ranks 27th against the run and 31st against the pass.
The Bears won at Dallas, 34-18, last season as 3-point underdogs. The Cowboys have covered the spread in 13 of their last 20 games as underdogs and opened as very slight pups here at Sportsbook.
This season the Bears are 6-6 overall and 2-9-1 ATS against the number, while the Cowboys are 7-5 and 8-4 ATS. As for the totals, Chicago is 8-4 on the OU, and Dallas is 7-5.
View Dallas Cowboys vs Chicago Bears Odds and Stats.
Sportsbooks such as Sportsbook had the Bears pegged as early 1-point favorites in this matchup. The total, meanwhile, was listed by books like Sportsbook at 49.5.
The game pits the Bears, currently No. 17 in our OddsShark NFL Power Rankings, against the Cowboys, who rate No. 16 in the latest survey. Meanwhile, math and handicapping models run on this game predict a 27-24 victory for the Cowboys.
Dallas won its last outing, a 31-24 result against the Raiders on November 28. The Cowboys failed to cover in that game as a 9.5-point favorite, while the 55 combined points took the game OVER the total. In Chicago's last outing, Josh McCown threw for 355 yards in a losing cause against the Vikings, 23-20 at The Metrodome.
How They Match Up:
Offensively, the game matches up Chicago's No. 5-ranked offense (26.92 PPG) against a Cowboys defense that ranks No. 22 at 25.25 PPG. The Bears passing attack has averaged 271.58 yards per game, less than the Cowboys give up through the air (294.92 YPG on average).
Defensively, the Cowboys feature the league's No. 30-rated road run defense, allowing 149.5 yards per game. Chicago, meanwhile, ranks No. 25 in rushing offense at home.
A few Cowboys at Bears trends to consider:
Dallas is 8-4 ATS in its last 12 games
Dallas is 5-2 SU in its last 7 games
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Dallas's last 5 games
Dallas is 4-2 ATS in its last 6 games on the road
Chicago is 1-8 ATS in its last 9 games
Chicago is 2-4 SU in its last 6 games
The total has gone OVER in 10 of Chicago's last 14 games
Chicago is 0-5 ATS in its last 5 games at home
Next up:
Dallas home to Green Bay, Sunday, December 15th
Chicago at Cleveland, Sunday, December 15th
