MNF Fallout: How The Bears And Jets Look After The Game
The Chicago Bears defeated the New York Jets 27-19 on Monday Night Football and the fallout was interesting, to say the very least.
The Bears traditional cover the spread when they are on Monday Night Football and last night was no different. The Jets were the -2.5 point favorites to win this one, likely due to several reason.
First, the Jets took a one-posesseion loss to the Green Bay Packers in Week 2. This performance against a team that the odds at the time had pegged as one of the top five favorites to go to the super bowl was enough to give the sports books confidence in the Jets performance. However, since then the Packers appear to be a team that is not as good as the future odds once predicted they were.
Second, the Bears were dealing with a ton of injuries on the defensive end of the ball. They had four rookies starting on D. Brandon Marshall also did not even play against the Jets until the third quarter, thanks to an ongoing ankle injury that it appears he is simply playing through.
The last reason they were favorites is simple, the Jets were at home, which may be the most overrated reasoning to classify a team as a favorite.
New York is dealing with injuries of their own that have left their secondary hobbled and they are still playing decent football on the defensive end. On offense, the story is very different.
Geno Smith has shown promise but is inaccurate, throwing two picked, including a game-chaging interception in the endzone during the fourth quarter. It is not all Smith’s fault, though. Rex Ryan and his coaching staff has not done the best play calling either.
The Bears are finding ways to win ball games, despite fighting an uphill battle with injuries. They beat the San Francisco 49ers in Week 2 and now the Jets have also fallen to the Bears.
Jay Cutler is not putting up pretty stats, but he is doing enough to put his team on the board with the help of some outstanding defensive play. Two forced fumbles and a redzone interception will make any quarterback’s day.
As poorly as the 49ers have been playing, the Jets were the Bears first real test, and they passed but barely. Next week they face a struggling Green Bay. If they beat them, the NFC North is theirs for the taking.
