Chicago Bears vs. New York Giants Pick

Chicago Bears (8-3 SU, 8-3 ATS) vs. New York Giants (3-8 SU, 5-5-1 ATS)
When: December 2, 2018, 1:00 PM EST
Where: MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, NJ
TV: FOX
BY: Rick Wise

Point Spread: CHI -4.5/NYG +4.5

Takeaways From Week 12

The Chicago Bears tightened their grip atop the NFC North with a 23-16 victory over the Detroit Lions Thursday for their fifth consecutive win.

Chase Daniel filled in nicely for Mitch Trubisky. Daniel finished 27-of-37 for 230 yards and 2 touchdowns for the best start of his long NFL career. He wasn’t throwing the ball downfield, as 14 of his 27 completions went for 10 yards or less, but he spread the ball around liberally to nine different receivers.

The Chicago defense bent a little but didn’t break. The unit conceded 333 total yards of offense to the Lions, 222 passing and 111 rushing, but intercepted Matthew Stafford twice and made big plays at the right times. Linebacker Roquan Smith had a key quarterback sack in the second quarter on a play in which Khalil Mack attracted the attention of three Detroit offensive lineman, freeing up Smith.

Meanwhile, it was a tale of two halves Sunday as the New York Giants lost a 25-22 heartbreaker to the Philadelphia Eagles in a game they dominated in the first half but failed to show up for in the second.

The Giants offense flew out of the gate from the start, outgaining the Birds 346 to 149 yards and outscoring them 19-11 in the first half, but then a familiar pattern emerged in the second. New York’s total yardage in the last two quarters dwindled to 56 and total points to just 3.

A top three pick in next year’s draft has become all but certain for the Giants at this point. That said, Kyle Lauletta needs to get on the field in place of Eli Manning so the front office can determine whether they need to go after a quarterback in the first round.

The Historicals

The Bears and the Giants don’t have as long a history against each other as one might think, considering that they’re two of the NFL’s oldest franchises. They’ve squared off 58 times dating back to 1925 and the Bears lead the series 33-23-2. However, the Giants have had the upper hand as of late, winning 6 of the last 10 going back to 1992.

Injury Concerns

For Chicago, listed as doubtful for Sunday’s game are LB Aaron Lynch (concussion), QB Mitch Trubisky (shoulder) and TE Adam Shaheen (concussion).
For New York, listed as questionable for Sunday are DE Kerry Wynn (concussion) and TE Evan Engram (hamstring).

When the Bears Have the Ball

It looks like Chase Daniel will get the start again in place of an injured Mitch Trubisky but as he showed last week against the Lions, he’s capable of leading this offense to a win. Against the Giants 18th-ranked pass defense, 26th-ranked run defense and 25th-ranked scoring defense, he should be far more than capable.

When the Giants Have the Ball

If Kyle Lauletta does get the start, who knows what to expect?
The Giants normally lean heavily on the pass though, as they’re putting the ball in the air 66.57% of the time versus running it 33.43% and they might want to keep it that way on Sunday, to both deal with Chicago’s vaunted 2nd-ranked run defense and to figure out what they have in Lauletta.

Betting Trends

• Chicago is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games
• Chicago is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games
• The total has gone OVER in 6 of Chicago’s last 8 games
• Chicago is 4-2 ATS in its last 6 games on the road
• Chicago is 5-16 SU in its last 21 games on the road
• The total has gone OVER in 9 of Chicago’s last 13 games when playing NY Giants
• Chicago is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games when playing on the road against NY Giants
• The total has gone OVER in 4 of Chicago’s last 6 games when playing on the road against NY Giants
• NY Giants is 4-13 SU in its last 17 games
• The total has gone UNDER in 12 of NY Giants’s last 18 games
• NY Giants is 0-4-1 ATS in its last 5 games at home
• NY Giants is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games at home
• The total has gone UNDER in 12 of NY Giants’s last 17 games at home
• The total has gone OVER in 9 of NY Giants’s last 13 games when playing Chicago
• NY Giants is 1-4 ATS in its last 5 games when playing at home against Chicago
• The total has gone OVER in 4 of NY Giants’s last 6 games when playing at home against Chicago

Weather Report

The forecast is calling for temperatures of 51 degrees under cloudy skies with a 48% chance of rain and 10 mph ESE winds.

Rick Wise’s NFL Pick: Chicago -4.5