Looking for the edge going into this weekends games? Need a game that you can safely place a bet on and feel confident is doing so? Well look no further, Here is the Ravens @ Bears Gambling Preview courtesy of 2DrunkBrothers and a Podcast!
Spread
The Ravens open up as 6-point road favorites against the Chicago Bears, even after an embarrassing 22-10 road loss in primetime last Thursday night against the Miami Dolphins. Baltimore was held to just 304 yards of offense and were unable to capitalize even though they were given 4 first downs from Dolphins’ penalties. Meanwhile, the Bears are coming off of a bye, so they have had 2 weeks to watch film and prepare for the Ravens offense and is it safe to say that the Dolphins put some tape out there on how to beat Lamar Jackson? They played Cover 0 on 40 defensive plays last Thursday, and kept the pressure on Jackson all night long. Prior to their bye week, the Bears had lost 4 games in a row by an average of 14.5 points per game, so it’s safe to say that this line has us perplexed.
Baltimore is a measly 3-6 against the spread (ATS) this season, while Chicago isn’t much better at 4-5 ATS. Chicago is also 2-5 ATS as underdogs on the season, while the Ravens are a horrendous 1-6 as favorites. As you can see, it’s difficult to find a slant here, but one thing we are looking at is the fact that Baltimore is 0-5 ATS when they are favored by 6 or more points, while the Bears are 2-2 ATS when they are underdogs by a touchdown or less. Want some more stats to advise you to avoid this spread? The Bears are 0-3 ATS since Matt Nagy took over as head coach in 2018 when coming off a bye, but the Ravens are 6-9 ATS when coming off of a loss since Lamar Jackson took over QB duties. The more we dig into this spread, we advise staying away from it, as there’s no convincing data that suggests one team has an advantage over the other.
The Pick – NONE
Over/Under
Currently, Vegas has the over/under in this game set at 45.5 total points. Overs in Ravens’ games this year have hit in 5 out of 9 games, while the under is the predominantly popular choice in Bears’ games as the over has hit in just 3 out of 9 games this season. Prior to last week’s stinker against the Dolphins, the Ravens had put up 30+ points in 3 out of 4 games. On the flip side, heading into their bye week, the Bears had allowed an average of 31 points per game in their 4 straight losses. On a positive note, since Justin Fields was the confirmed starter in Chicago, the Bears offense has turned the corner and they have put up 20+ points in two straight games. After their first two losses on the year, the Ravens put up 36 and 34 points in the weeks following. So, with Justin Fields turning the corner on the Bears’ offense, the over hitting in the last two games for the Bears, the Ravens putting up 34+ points following both of their losses, and overs hitting in 3 out of the last 5 Ravens games, we are leaning the over of 45.5 in this one. This could be a fun game to watch with two mobile QBs who have the ability to extend plays when the pocket breaks down, so instead of picking the spread and sweating it, go ahead and take the over and root for points!
The Pick – Over 45.5
Player Props
We all know that player props aren’t released until later in the week, but we wanted to put a few on your radar to watch out for. Something that we have had a lot of success in betting this year is tackle props (total tackles; not solo) and Raven’s defensive back Anthony Averett has been a player we have had on our watch-list all season long. If his total tackle prop is anything under 4 (maybe even 4.5) then go ahead and take his over, as he has had 4 or more tackles in every game this season except for two. You may also want to keep an eye on Justin Field’s over on passing yards. The Ravens surrender the most passing yards per game in the NFL this season at 283.3 passing yards allowed per game. Fields is coming off a career high 291 yards passing, so if this line is in the 220s then we would lean the over. On the other side of the ball, you might be inclined to take a look at Lamar Jackson’s over on rushing yards. Chicago allows the 23rd most rushing yards per game, and they have allowed an average of 144 rushing yards per game over their last three contests. Jackson had a measly 39 rushing yards on 9 attempts last week against Miami, but had 120 and 88 in the two weeks prior to that. One more prop we will float your way is over on Rashod Bateman’s receptions. Since he came back from his injury in Week 6, he has had 6 or more targets in every game, and had 8 each in the last two weeks. If his reception total is under 6, then we would be inclined to take the over.
As always, please remember to gamble responsibly. If you’re looking for a spot to place your bets this weekend for Ravens @ Bears, check out the latest on sports betting in Maryland which is expected to go live in the next year, and you can visit Sports Betting Dime to place all of your bets.
