Saints Look To Top Division; Visit Bears
Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints will look to regain top spot in the NFC South Monday.
Looking to stay in postseason contention, the New Orleans Saints travel to the Windy City to face the Chicago Bears on Monday night.
Kickoff at Soldier Field in Chicago is scheduled for 8:30 p.m. ET.
While ESPN’s Monday Night Football schedulers haven’t exactly lucked out with this fixture, there is at least an air of desperation about the game, at least as far as the Saints are concerned. That might not be enough to draw viewers in by their droves, but it at least makes this one a little interesting.
The Story So Far
New Orleans (5-8, 2-4 road) enters Monday night’s game in a dogfight battle in the NFC South.
Despite an underwhelming season, Sean Payton’s side remains in contention for the NFC South title, a title none of the division seems to want to win.
The Carolina Panthers (5-8-1) moved into pole position in the division with a win over the hapless Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2-12) on Sunday, while the Atlanta Falcons (5-9) fell to the Pittsburgh Steelers to miss out on top spot.
The Saints can move to the top with a win over the Bears on Monday, while a loss would see the side fall behind the Falcons by way of an inferior head-to-head record.
The Saints fell to the Panthers a week ago, registering a fourth loss in five games. Remarkably all four of those losses came in the Superdome, while the win came in Pittsburgh.
Drew Brees and Co. will look to register a third straight road win on Monday, putting the side in the driving seat as far as the NFC South is concerned.
After an abysmal season, Chicago (5-8, 2-4 road) finds itself out of playoff contention and looking down the barrel of change.
The Bears enter Monday night’s game having dropped two straight and five of the last seven.
A week ago, Marc Trestman’s side was pummeled by the Dallas Cowboys at home before mounting a comeback that would ultimately come up short. The loss snapped a two-game winning streak at Soldier Field.
Right now, the Bears have little left to play for. A storied franchise, fans will expect the team to play for pride while Trestman and a slew of his players could well be auditioning for next season. Taking out the Saints wouldn’t mean much, but it would mean something.
Head-to-Head
Chicago owns a 15-13 advantage in the all-time head-to-head series but the two teams are tied 13-13 in regular season competition.
Chicago is 10-7 against New Orleans when the two sides play at Soldier Field.
New Orleans has won two straight in the series, including a 26-18 victory when the two sides met in Chicago last season.
Injury Report
New Orleans tackle Terron Armstead (neck) and linebacker Junior Calette (knee) are both listed as questionable for Monday night’s game.
Defensive end Akiem Nicks (ankle) and cornerback Keenan Lewis (illness) are amongst those New Orleans players listed as probable.
Chicago safety Chris Conte (back) is doubtful for the game. Defensive tackle Jay Ratliff (knee) and defensive end Cornelius Washington (ankle) are amongst those Bears players listed as questionable.
Check out the full injury list
Marc Trestman and his players could well be auditioning for next season.
Betting Report
Below you’ll find Betting Sports’ breakdown of odds and betting trends.
New Orleans Saints vs. Chicago Bears odds for 12/15/2014
Moneyline: New Orleans (-145) opened as the road favorite over Chicago (+125) on the moneyline. That advantage has climbed as high as -170 with some sportsbooks.
The Saints have lost four of their last five but the one win during that stretch came in the team’s only road game.
The Bears are 3-7 since beginning the season 2-1, and have dropped two straight.
Spread: The spread opened at 3 in favor of the Saints and remains static.
Neither New Orleans (5-8-0 ATS) nor Chicago (5-8-0 ATS) has fared well against the spread this season.
The Saints are 3-3-0 ATS on the road while the Bears are 2-4-0 ATS at home.
The Saints are 3-8-0 ATS when considered the favorite while the Bears are 3-6-0 ATS when playing as an underdog.
Chicago is a miserly 3-12-1 ATS in its last 16 home games and 2-5-2 ATS in its last nine head-to-head meetings with the Saints.
The Bears have covered the spread in all five games they have won this season. They’ve failed to cover in all eight losses.
Total: The total opened at 54 and has remained static.
Both New Orleans (10-3-0 O/U) and Chicago (8-5-0 O/U) have favored the over this season.
The total has gone over in four of the last six head-to-head meetings. The over has also paid out in five of the Saints’ last six trips to the Windy City.
The over has paid out in 12 of 15 Monday Night Football games this season.
*****
For a look ahead at Week 16 NFL odds, click here.
For a full list of NFL Futures, click here.
For NFL team prop bets, click here.
For NFL player prop bets, click here.
