Mad Bets: Will the Packers cover -8.5 vs. Bears?
Matt Gothard & Jared Quay are joined by Robert Mays, of The Athletic, to give their picks for the Bears-Packers game on Sunday Night.
Video Transcript
MATT GOTHARD: Welcome back to Mad Bets, everybody. We are joined this week by Robert Mays, host of The Athletic Football Show. He is joining us because he's also a Chicago Bears fan, and I want to get his thoughts on if the Bears have any chance on Sunday Night Football catching 8 and 1/2 against the Green Bay Packers. Mays, do you have any hope for this game?
ROBERT MAYS: I don't. I think the Bears' best hope for this game is if they're an entirely different football team comprised of an entirely different group of people. So unless that can happen between now and Sunday, I don't have much hope in them winning.
MATT GOTHARD: All right, well we all know they probably won't win the game, but do you think that they can keep it within 8 and 1/2? I think that's the line right now on BetMGM.
ROBERT MAYS: I think it'll be difficult. I just feel like this team is having trouble moving the ball against anybody, and the Packers are a team that traditionally you can run the ball against. Their run defense is not very good. The Bears is just a team that likes to live in smaller personnel packages. You can run the ball on them.
The Colts did that last week. The Bears just aren't set up to do that. They're one of the least efficient rushing teams in the NFL. They don't run the ball well. They don't throw the ball well.
At a certain point, you're going to need to score to keep up with Aaron Rodgers, no matter how good your defense is. I think we saw that against the Colts, and even if the Bears have one the top five defenses in the league, I still think that the Packers' offense is good enough where scoring 21 points probably isn't going to keep you in the game.
MATT GOTHARD: Yeah, it's hard not to feel bad for the Bears' defense this year. I feel like every time I watch them head to the sideline, I just die. It's almost demoralizing as a fan to watch. Quay, what are you going to do here? Are you taking the Bears or the Packers?
JARED QUAY: Look, we're on here with a Bears fan, and he's telling you to take the Green Bay Packers. I'm no dummy, I'm not running from that, all right. I've watched the Bears. I actually lost some money on the Bears versus the Vikings. Aaron Rodgers and Aaron Jones are just too good of an offense to not score at least 21, maybe 28 points, and I just don't think the Bears can keep up with that. So of course I'm going Green Bay.
MATT GOTHARD: You guy are going to call me crazy, but everybody I feel like is going to take the Packers in this game, and underdogs on Sunday Night Football are 9 and 2 against the spread this year. I mean, that's a pretty good number, and 8 and 1/2 is a lot of points, especially with a really good defense. I like the Packers, but I'm probably going to take the Bears in this one. I know I'll end up getting laughed at for doing that, but gotta kind of fade everybody.
So I'm taking the Bears. I'm giving them a little bit of a chance in this one. Mays, thanks so much for stopping bye, man. Everybody, make sure to check him out on The Athletic Football Show.
ROBERT MAYS: Thanks, guys.
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