Faced with the prospect of 3-0 division leaders and an uphill battle to climb, the (1-1) Chicago Bears and (0-2) Washington Redskins will be looking to keep pace in the NFC with a victory tonight (8.15pm ET Monday).
Before getting into the Xs and Os of this week’s matchups, it’s worth pointing out one particular trend when it comes to the Bears and the Redskins. As NFC opponents, these two teams meet semi-regularly but you’d have to go all the way back to December 2003, 16 years ago, to find the last time Chicago picked up a victory over Washington. That is seven straight losses. While many of these games have been close, the most recent Bears/Redskins outing ended in a 20-point victory for Washington, who picked up an improbable win at Soldier Field in 2016.
When offering picks and betting predictions, I’m not one to focus too heavily on trends as they are often influenced by players/personnel that have been different across the length of the trend. That is the case here as both the Bears and Redskins have seen significant changes, both for better and worse, over the last 16 years. However, seven straight losses to the same team with more than half of them occurring at home, would seem to suggest that this is a trend to keep in mind when making a bet on this NFL contest.
Last Two Weeks
Currently sitting last place in the NFC East, the Washington Redskins didn’t exactly have a cakewalk of a schedule to open their season, facing off against two divisional rivals and playoffs teams from a year ago in short order.
In week one, the ‘Skins took on the Philadelphia Eagles, a team better than their 1-2 record implies. Prior to the many injuries Philadelphia has sustained, the Eagles were at full force against Washington and used their weapons (especially former Redskin DeSean Jackson who shone in his return to the team that drafted him) to lead a second half comeback. The Eagles scored 25 second half points including 17 unanswered, in order to grab victory over Washington.
Week two wasn’t any easier as Washington took on their longtime NFC rival and one of the NFL’s remaining undefeated teams when they hosted the Cowboys at home. Washington had their opportunities as Adrian Peterson hit end zone pay dirt, but ultimately Dak Prescott and co were too much to handle for the Redskins defense. Washington allowed over 30 points for the second week in a row in their loss to the Cowboys.
For the Bears, who entered the year with somewhat lofty expectations and a chance to capture the NFC North divisional crown, their opener, much like Washington’s was very disappointing. Chicago took on the Green Bay Packers in the NFL’s first game of 2019. It wasn’t a barnburner by any means. In fact, the Bears managed just three points as similar woes from last year resurfaced and Mitch Trubisky’s slow maturation process continued. Credit the Bears’ defense however, as they allowed Aaron Rodgers’ high powered Green Bay just 10 points.
The following week, the Bears defense had another great outing and this time, it was enough for a victory. Chicago held the Denver Broncos to just 14 points and while no one player had a spectacular game for the Bears, it was enough to net the team the first win of the year.
Bears vs Redskins – The Matchup
Both the Bears and the Redskins have had offensive issues this year and it is hard to say which one is better poised to break out of them. On one hand, high hopes continue to surround Trubisky, who Chicago is just waiting to put it all together. The former #2 overall pick, which the Bears climbed up just one position in the draft to select, has been garnered with future of the franchise expectations ever since, though he has yet to live up to them. In Washington, Case Keenum, who isn’t far removed from his successful tenure with the Minnesota Vikings, was brought to the Redskins to replace Kirk Cousins. Keenum isn’t having a bad year at all, but while his numbers are good, he has fallen short in key situations.
Today, the kid with high expectations takes the field against the veteran journeyman. Trubisky’s Bears have scored just 19 total points across two games, all but seven of which have come off the leg of Eddy Pineiro. Offensively, the team has just one touchdown and it has not come from Trubisky’s arm. Chicago is a decent running team and after last week’s game plan against the Broncos, expect to see that become more of a focus going forward as Trubisky looks to find his way. For the Redskins, they will need to do the same as their passing game is actually playing really well. Keenum has a completion percentage of 69, five touchdowns, 601 yards and has yet to throw an interception. Their run game should be a focus given the presence of Adrian Paterson and Derrius Guice. But so far, that has not been the case as Guice got injured and Peterson is far from what he used to be.
So, moral of the story, these are two teams without running games but want to have them. It will be interesting to see if either look to push that envelope forward tonight.
Our Preview’s Chicago Bears vs Washington Redskins Predictions & Betting Picks Verdict
Home field advantage won’t matter much in this one as the Redskins have lost their last five at FedExField and by a combined score of 156-72. That means they are being outscored double the number their offense is producing. It is not exactly the kind of stats you expect to see from the home team. For this reason, the Bears are pretty heavily favored in the books of the American-friendly offshore sports betting sites as the road team. Staked five points, our pick is for the Bears to fail to cover the spread as this should be relatively close and relatively low-scoring. The Chicago Bears vs Washington Redskins predictions for this Monday night NFL matchup preview are:
- Bet Washington Redskins +5.5pts @ best odds of -105 with Bovada. It is -110 with Intertops and BetOnline.
- For the total points wager, go under 41pts @ best betting odds of -105 with Bookmaker. The other bookies are -110.
Marilee writes on NFL, MLB, NBA & tennis for USA Betting. Another area of her sporting journalistic expertise is pro wrestling. A native of Philadelphia and a big Eagles fan, she has been a sports writer for many major websites including Bleacher Report and Rant Sports. She started her journalistic career early, as sports editor for her college newspaper.