Betting the Bears vs. Patriots: spread, total and survivor

The Bears hit the road for New England after a needed break from their miserable loss to the Washington Commanders.

But now the schedule is kicking it up a notch. The Patriots may only be .500 but they have a good defense and one of the best coaches of this generation.

Can the Chicago Bears win Monday? It’s going to take a whole lot of improvement over what we saw against Washington, and frankly, most of what we have seen this season.

In the survivor pool, we lost 13 last week, including three brave souls who chose the Bears. One chose Green Bay, one Jacksonville, one San Francisco and five had the Buccaneers.

There’s just four left that do not have a strike yet.

Over in the pick ‘ems, I have tumbled down the rankings following two rough weeks, dropping to 22nd. The group has a whole had a rough week, with no one hitting double digits. Shoutout to Must Be Trippin, last week’s high-scorer with nine.

Now, let’s get into Monday’s game.

Chicago Bears at New England Patriots (-8, O/U 40)

Since the Bears defeated the Patriots in the fabled Super Bowl XX, the Bears have just one victory against New England. Way back in 2000.

While these teams don’t meet often, the Patriots have dominated it.

The Pats have covered four straight in the series.

Even when the Bears have kept it close, it wasn’t enough.

I know that most of the meetings between these two squads came when the Pats were Super Bowl contenders and the Bears weren’t.

I get that the Patriots aren’t those teams anymore, either, but they still have good coaching and a good roster.

What, exactly, do the Bears have that says they can stay in this game?

It’s a lot of points, I get that, but Chicago can’t string together two scoring drives right now.

The one thing that I think the Bears have going for them is that Mac Jones is returning and he wasn’t playing well before his injury. Maybe the coaches got the offense dialed in better, but that’s the Bears’ best shot.

I’m going to make the sharp play here and take the Bears. I know everything I just wrote and I have basement-level expectations for the Bears, but I think it’s the only great play. I’ll be hoping for a backdoor cover.

I’m playing the under, too. I am so terrible at picking the total, so just fade me now and enjoy it, but these are two good defenses and I think Mac Jones is going to feel the pressure of the Bailey Zappe era. Plus, they weren’t exactly lighting up scoreboards before Jones was hurt.

For survivor, I’m going with the Raiders. I thought about the Patriots, but I don’t know when else I’ll like the Raiders. At home, against the Texans, it feels like a good time.

My picks: Bears +8, under 40, Raiders (survivor)

Record: 4-8 overall, 3-3 ATS, 1 strike in survivor

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