Teams headed in opposite directions collide on Monday Night Football when the Chicago Bears visit the Pittsburgh Steelers in an interconference tilt. The Steelers followed up a three-game losing streak by winning three straight. They are right back in the race for the AFC North title while moving into a playoff spot in the conference. Offensive woes continue to hold back the Bears, who have lost three in a row SU and ATS. Pittsburgh opened as a 5-point favorite with the spread growing throughout the week. Oddsmakers aren’t expecting a lot of points with the total at a Week 9 low 38.5.
This regular season Week 9 matchup will take place on Monday, November 8, 2021 at 8:15 p.m. ET at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, PA and will be televised on ESPN.
NFL Odds at BookMaker.eu
Chicago Bears +6.5
Pittsburgh Steelers -6.5
Total 38.5
Odds Analysis
The Steelers injected themselves right back into the division and conference race by winning three in a row. It wasn’t that long ago they were written off and Ben Roethlisberger was deemed over the hill. Winning can cure a lot of things and it certainly put the Steelers in a good spot. They’ve been helped out by their defense, too, which hasn’t given up more than 20 points during the streak. The Steelers earned a hard-fought upset win last week in Cleveland, 15-10, for their second cover in three games. They also played below the total for the sixth time in seven games. The Bears have lost three in a row by double digits falling to 3-5 SU and ATS. I guess it’s not surprising to see the betting public jump on Pittsburgh pushing the line to Steelers -6.5 after opening at -5. The total of 38.5 is the lowest on the Week 9 board and the lowest for either team this season.
Player to Watch
With Roethlisberger and the passing game struggling, the Steelers have struck a balance with the emergence of Najee Harris. The rookie out of Alabama had his three best games in terms of rushing yards over the previous three weeks helping Pittsburgh to three victories. There is still plenty of room for improvement with the Steelers near the bottom of the rankings with an average of 86 rushing yards per game. That number is better than last year when the team was last in the league with an average of 84.4 rushing yards. And the number has improved significantly thanks to Harris, who ran for 122 yards against Denver to start the three-game streak.
Harris ran for 91 yards on 26 carries with a touchdown last week and is averaging just under 100 yards in his last three games. He’s given the unit some balance taking pressure of Roethlisberger by averaging 28 touches in those games. Harris is a receiving threat as well with his 37 catches the second-most on the club. The Bears allowed Elijah Mitchell to rush for 137 yards on 18 carries last week and they rank 24th against the run surrendering 125 rush yards per game.
Key Stat
Justin Fields never faced anything like this during his time at Ohio State. Behind a top offensive line for two seasons Fields put up Heisman Trophy contending numbers while leading the explosive Buckeyes offense. Welcome to the show, rookie! Part of the Bears’ offensive struggles can be directly attributed to a weak line. They lost projected starter Teven Jenkins in training camp and Germain Ifedi was shelved recently with a knee injury. Even with the dynamic Fields at the helm the Bears have struggled again to move and score the football. They are last in the NFL in total offense and next to last in scoring at 15.4 points per game. Without much time to throw the football the Bears also have the league’s worst passing attack. It’s hard to find a rhythm when dodging defenders and that’s what Chicago QBs have had to do. Fields has been sacked a league-high 26 times and the line has allowed 30 sacks.
Free ATS Pick
The Bears had been able to rely on a stingy defense in the past, but they can’t even do that now. The group allowed more than 30 points in each of the last two games and could be without Khalil Mack once again. One player isn’t going to change the fortunes of the unit, but Mack is a huge loss and it was felt last week. Unless things magically change for the Bears I can’t see them covering in this game. I do, however, see Fields doing enough to score some points to cash the OVER.
NFL Pick: Pittsburgh Steelers -6.5 / OVER 38.5
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