Chicago-Green Bay Betting Preview

At one time, the Chicago Bears were sitting at 5-1 and looking like a rival to Green Bay for the NFC North crown. But four straight losses behind an offense that looks worse each week has Matt Nagy's team struggling just to stay in the playoff picture. The Bears do get a major shot at shaking things up tonight, however, as they face the Packers in a North showdown. Kick off is 8:20 p.m. ET at Lambeau Field.

Chicago's last loss -- a 19-13 dumpster fire against the Minnesota Vikings -- was the worst offensive performance yet. The Bears registered only 149 total yards and 10 first downs against a Vikings defense that ranks in the bottom half of most defensive categories. Their only TD came on a Cordarelle Patterson 104-yard kick off return. 

A combination of Nick Foles' injured hip and his ineffectiveness has led Nagy to make another change at QB by bringing back former starter Mitchell Trubisky, who hasn't played since a November 1 overtime loss against New Orleans. Trubisky can at least count on a Bears defense, which ranks sixth in points allowed (20.9), to keep the game close.

Green Bay (7-3) holds a comfortable two-game lead over the Bears and three games over the Vikings in the North standings. The Packers are coming off a 34-31 OT loss at Indianapolis that saw the defense allow the Colts to come back from a 28-14 halftime deficit. Aaron Rodgers had his usual big game (311 yards, 3 TDs), but it hasn't always been a good sign when the Pack live through the air. Green Bay comes in just 1-4 ATS in its last 5 games after topping 250 yards passing in the previous game.

Dunkel's Pick:

Vegas has Green Bay listed as an 8.5-point favorite and Dunkel is taking the Bears plus the points with the Packers calculated as only 4 points stronger. Dunkel also has the final score going over the Vegas number of 45 with a calculated total of 55.329. 

Dunkel's Pick: Chicago (+8.5); Over

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