Da Bears ATS vs. Seattle Easiest of NFL Playoff Picks

Betting on the Chicago Bears to cover the spread in their Divisional Playoff game versus the Seattle Seahawks is one of the easier NFL betting playoff picks of the weekend.

Seattle shocked the world (okay…maybe just the sports world) by upsetting the defending champion New Orleans Saints 41 to 36 and sending the Saints to the showers. The ‘Hawks controlled most of the game, but if football handicappers believe that Seattle will have the same success versus Chicago on Sunday that they did versus the Saints, they’re sorely mistaken.

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Seattle Seahawks (8-9) at Chicago Bears (11-5)

Where: Soldier Field, Chicago, Illinois

When: Jan. 16th, 2011 at 1:00 pm EST

TV: FOX

NFL Betting Line

Seattle Seahawks +10 -110 O 41 -110

Chicago Bears -10 -110 U 41 -110

Check out some trends in this game.

• The Seattle Seahawks are 3 and 12 ATS in their last 15 road games versus a team with a winning home record.
• The Seattle Seahawks are 2 and 10 ATS in their last 12 games on grass.
• The Chicago Bears are 5 and 1 ATS in their last 6 games on grass.
• The Chicago Bears are 2 and 8 ATS in their last 10 home games as a favorite of 3 ½ to 10 ½ points.

Only 43% of my fellow pigskin handicappers agree with me that the Bears ATS is one of the better NFL playoff picks of the weekend. 57% are willing to take the 10 points on the Seahawks in this game.

There are two reasons for that. First, many sports handicappers are impressed by how the Seahawks beat New Orleans last Saturday. The main reason for the victory had to do with Seattle playing with passion, the Saints defense not playing with any passion at all, and the inspired play of ‘Hawks’ QB Matt Hasselbeck. Hasselbeck was terrific when making great throw after great throw to help Seattle get past the defending champs.

But I doubt that Matty H. has that kind of game this Sunday versus a Bears’ D that doesn’t take chances the way that the Saints’ D does. Chicago’s defense isn’t flashy. It just shuts teams down. The Bears allow only 90.1 yards per game on the ground, 2nd in the NFL. The Bears allow only 17.9 points per game on average, that’s 4th in the NFL.

Handicappers making Seattle one of the better NFL playoff picks this weekend will point to the fact that the ‘Hawks beat Chicago straight up during the regular season. That’s the second reason that many sports gamblers are taking the 10 points in this game. They’re right, of course, Seattle did beat Chicago 23 to 20 but the victory occurred in Week 6 before the Bears went on their bye.

Chicago has gone 7 and 2 straight up since their bye week. Da Bears are 6-2-1 against the spread since their bye. More importantly, QB Jay Cutler has produced a 104 QB rating or better in 4 out of the last 6 Chicago games. The Bears’ offensive line has had their issues, Cutler was sacked 56 times during the regular season, that’s tops in the NFL. Many football handicappers are pointing to the sack stat as the reason for making the Seattle Seahawks one of the better NFL playoff picks this weekend, but Chicago’s extra week off should have helped the O-Line get better and the Bears did show signs of being able to protect Cutler with more regularity towards the end of the season.

Besides, Seattle sacked the QB only 37 times during the regular season and they play most of their games versus their fellow NFC West opponents: St Louis, Arizona and San Francisco. The ‘Hawks probably aren’t going to get to Cutler the way a truly gifted blitzing team might.

In any case, Seattle’s 28th ranked offense figures to get mauled by Chicago’s terrific defense. I don’t see Seattle being close in this game.

NFL Betting Pick: Chicago Bears -10

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