Free Picks: New Orleans Saints vs Chicago Bears

The New Orleans Saints have been rolling on both sides of the ball in recent weeks but may be without Alvin Kamara, who tested positive for COVID-19.  The Bears managed to sneak into the playoffs at 8-8, but they have looked decent since their Week 11 Bye.  888sport has the Saints as -10 (-107) home favourites.

The Chicago Bears are riding a three-game winning streak as they head into their Wild Card matchup with the New Orleans Saints.  Their offense seems to have found new life since their Bye in Week 11 and now appears to run through David Montgomery.

Montgomery ended the season tied with James Robinson for fifth in total rushing yards at 1,070.  He was fantastic in the second half of the regular season, but he may stumble against the Saints’ number four ranked rushing defense.

Alvin Kamara may end up missing this game for the Saints since he tested positive for COVID-19 a few days ago, but he may be able to get cleared on the day of the game.  If he misses this game, it could be big trouble for the New Orleans Saints, whose offense also runs through their running back.

The Bears aren’t spectacular, but they deserve some respect as their once putrid offense has put up some dazzling displays in recent weeks.  The OVER has cashed in five of Chicago’s last six games and six of their last nine games on the road.

It’s noteworthy that the Bears pushed the Saints to overtime back in Week 8 and ended up losing by only three points, so I’m not expecting the Saints to trounce them as the oddsmakers seem to think they will.

I’m going with the OVER 47.5 (-108) (888sport) in this one.  I believe that Matt Nagy will stay committed to the run game, but if the Bears fall behind early, Trubisky will air it out to Allen Robinson II and Darnell Mooney to make this game an offensive spectacle.

• The OVER has cashed in 6 of Chicago’s last 9 games on the road
• The OVER has cashed in 5 of Chicago’s last 6 games
• New Orleans is 4-2-2 ATS in their last 10 games against Chicago
• The OVER has cashed in 5 of New Orleans’ last 6 games against an NFC North opponent