The Arizona Cardinals are coming from a bye week, ready to continue their quest for the playoffs. Although they’re at the top of the NFC West with 9-2, they still haven’t secured a place in the postseason. The good news, however, is that they’re not far from achieving that goal. In fact, beating the Chicago Bears on Sunday would mean making one giant leap toward making their postseason dream come true.
The Cards have the motivation to win the Week 13 game at Soldier Field, but do they have the manpower needed for that? Sure, they do! Their key man, quarterback Kyler Murray is expected to make a comeback after being off the field for a month due to a heel problem.
Cardinals vs Bears Odds
| Spread | |
| Arizona Cardinals -7.5 | Chicago Bears +7.5 |
| -115 | -105 |
| Moneyline | |
| Arizona Cardinals | Chicago Bears |
| -360 | +290 |
| Points Over/Under | |
| Over 45.5 | Under 45.5 |
| -110 | -110 |
Cardinals Eager to Play After a Bye
The bye week came at the right moment for the Cardinals. In the weeks leading to the bye, they were having some serious problems with injuries.
Their best player, QB Murray was out with a heel injury. Further, wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins was also out with a hamstring injury. On top of everything, one of their best defensive players, defensive end Chandler Jones missed a practice session due to feeling jaded.
The banged-up Cardinals had problems keeping their superb run going. In the four games before their bye week, they lost twice – to the Green Bay Packers and Carolina Panthers.
As a result, their record is 9-2 right now, with six more games left to be played. They’re at the top of both their division and their conference, meaning that they have nothing to worry much about the postseason.
The trouble is that their schedule for the remainder of the season looks pretty tough. They will have to play against such heavyweights as the Los Angeles Rams, Indianapolis Colts, Dallas Cowboys, and Seattle Seahawks.
On the bright side, the Cards will also face two major underdogs – the Chicago Bears and Detroit Lions. Winning both of those games is on their agenda.
Can the Bears Upset the Odds?
The Bears are coming off a 16-14 win against the Lions in Week 12. That was their fourth win of the season, which means that they’re still in the game for the postseason. Still, they’d need a miracle to actually qualify for the playoffs as their schedule is really tough.
Even if that wasn’t the case, the Bears just don’t have enough talent on their roster to hope for much success. Their defense might not be too horrible, but their offense is among the worst in the league. With 179 points scored in 11 games, they’re the second-least productive team in the NFC.
What’s even worse is that their starting QB Justin Fields will probably have to sit out the Cardinals game. The rookie is still recovering from a rib injury, for which he had to miss the Week 12 game.
Cardinals vs Bears Predictions
Anything but a convincing win for the Cards would be a huge surprise. They’re better than the Bears in literally all aspects of the game, which is why they should have no problems covering the eight-point spread.
Pick:
- Arizona Cardinals -7.5
