Who to Bet on Monday Night
The Bears take on the Patriots tonight on Monday Night Football, at Gilette Stadium.
Betting analyst Joe Fortenbaugh, ESPN analyst Seth Walder, fantasy and sports betting analysts André Snellings and Eric Moody, plus Football Outsiders' Aaron Schatz provide their top plays.
Bears vs. Patriots: Monday Night Football betting odds, picks, tips
Will Mac Jones be able to run wild for the New England Patriots in Week 7? Fred Kfoury III/Icon SportswireFacebookTwitterFacebook MessengerEmailOct 23, 2022ESPN Betting and Fantasy AnalystsWeek 7 of the NFL season wraps up Monday night with the New England Patriots (-7.5, 40) hosting the Chicago Bears at Gillette Stadium (ESPN, 8:15 ET).
After an exciting Sunday of action, we have one more opportunity to wager on professional football if we so choose. So which plays do our analysts like the most?
ADVERTISEMENT
Betting analyst Joe Fortenbaugh, ESPN analyst Seth Walder, fantasy and sports betting analysts André Snellings and Eric Moody, plus Football Outsiders' Aaron Schatz provide their top plays.
Note: Lines from Caesars Sportsbook unless otherwise indicated.
Chicago Bears at New England Patriots (-7.5, 40)Monday, 8:15 p.m. ET, Gillette Stadium
With Mac Jones returning for the Patriots, what are your thoughts on the spread and total for this game? Who are you taking?Fortenbaugh: A one-dimensional offense (of which Chicago is one, thanks to a hideous passing attack) is a recipe for disaster against a Bill Belichick-coached team because he's a master at making the opposition play left-handed. So you have to ask yourself, "Do I trust Justin Fields, who ranks 32nd in the NFL in QB rating at 72.7, to go out and win me this bet?" My answer to that question is a resounding, "No." I hooked a handful of 6-point teasers into New England on Monday night and would also lay a half unit on the Patriots at -7.5, not to mention an under bet as well.
Snellings: If Jones indeed back, I'll go with the under. In three games before getting injured, Jones led the Patriots to just 15.7 points per game, and they combined with their opponents to go under this line in two of those three games. Similarly, Fields has led the Bears to an average of 15.5 points per game and they've combined with their opponents to go under this line in four out of six games. These are two teams that are better on defense than offense and have struggled to score.
The Bears have only thrown the ball 35% of the time, with 141 attempts on 402 plays -- lowest in the league. However, Fields' rushing yards prop has gone over in five of his last six away games. It's at 43.5 for Monday night. What are your thoughts on Chicago's player props? Would you take any of them for Monday night?Fortenbaugh: I'd be looking to play unders, especially when it comes to Chicago's rushing attack. I think Belichick is going to stack the box and dare Fields to beat New England with his arm, something the second-year quarterback has been unable to do throughout his brief time in the NFL.
Snellings: I'd take Fields over 43.5 rushing yards. He's gone over that mark in each of the last four games, averaging 58.5 yards. I could see Belichick daring Fields to throw and trying to limit the run, but Fields is electric enough with his legs that I still like him to do some damage.
Schatz: I'll take the over on Fields' rushing yards because the Patriots historically have trouble with scrambling quarterbacks, in part because they play a lot of man coverage. I agree that the Patriots will look to stack the box and force Fields to throw, but he'll get out of the pocket for a couple of big runs against this defense.
Walder: I'll go over for the same reason. The Patriots have gone with man coverage at a 56% rate this season, which is fifth highest in the NFL. That generally leads to more scrambling opportunities for opposing quarterbacks. The Bears ought to be looking to get Fields to use his legs as much as possible.
Marks: I'll take Justin Fields over 24.5 pass attempts and over 7.5 rush attempts. Fields is averaging nine rushing attempts a game and with Matt Judon expected to chase him down much of the night, I believe he will go over his rushing attempts prop tonight. Fields has also been throwing the ball more lately. He had 27 pass attempts against the Chargers last week and I expect the Pats to load the box to force Fields to throw the ball even more.
