Chicago Bears at New York Giants, New Meadowlands Stadium, East Rutherford, NJ
Sunday, October 3, 2010, 8:20 pm EST, TV: NBC
Opening Line: Giants -3
Current Line: Giants -3.5
Opening Total: 42.5
Current Total: 44
Money Line: Giants -190 / Bears +160
Odds Taken From Bookmaker Sportsbook who offers NFL betting all season long.
The Chicago Bears (3-0) visit New Meadowlands Stadium as the NFC’s lone undefeated team while the host New York Giants (1-2) will look to hand them their first loss of the season on Sunday Night Football. The Bears are flying high off a 20-17 win over NFC North rival Green Bay on Monday night and will try to take advantage of a favored Giants team that appears wounded mentally and physically following consecutive losses to AFC South opponents Indianapolis and Tennessee.
New York (-3.5 on the current NFL betting odds) found out on Friday that defensive end Mathias Kiwanuka is out indefinitely with a bulging disc in his neck, adding to a list of injured players that includes starting center Shaun O’Hara (ankle), linebacker Keith Bulluck (toe), defensive end Osi Umenyiora (knee) and wide receiver Mario Manningham (concussion). Of that group, only Manningham seems to be a sure bet to play, as O’Hara is out and Bulluck and Umenyiora are listed as questionable.
The Giants could definitely use Kiwanuka and Umenyiora to put pressure on Chicago quarterback Jay Cutler, who has bounced back well so far from a rough first season with the Bears by throwing six touchdowns and two interceptions. Cutler has adjusted nicely to the new offensive scheme employed by offensive coordinator Mike Martz and ranks among the highest-rated passers in the league with a 109.7 rating.
Chicago’s revamped offensive line without left tackle Chris Williams has made strides in the last two games and might be able to take advantage of a New York run defense that has surrendered 136.7 yards per game. Giants defensive coordinator Perry Fewell was a candidate for that position with the Bears in the offseason but declined for a chance to coach in the Big Apple.
Offensively, New York has also struggled due to 10 turnovers, including six interceptions thrown by quarterback Eli Manning. The Giants committed 11 penalties as well in last week’s 29-10 home loss to Tennessee and need to play much smarter if they are going to win this game.
The Bears benefit from a franchise-record 18 penalties by the Packers last week and may not be able to use kick returner Devin Hester to his full potential, as New York head coach Tom Coughlin has already instructed rookie punter Matt Dodge not to kick the ball to him. Hester returned a punt 62 yards for a touchdown against Green Bay and returned a missed field goal 108 yards for a score in his last visit to the Meadowlands in 2006.
The Giants have lost their last five home meetings with Chicago during the regular season, and the Bears are 3-1 straight-up and against the spread in the last four games between the teams overall. The OVER is 8-0 in New York’s last eight games against NFC opponents.
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