A potential Super Bowl preview will take center stage
Sunday night when the Houston Texans take the best record in the AFC
into Soldier Field to face the NFC North-leading Chicago Bears. Houston
rebounded nicely from its lone loss against Green Bay, pounding
Baltimore before its bye week and coming back from the week off to beat
Buffalo last week. The Texans rank second in the league in scoring
offense (29.6) and fourth in scoring defense (17.1).
Houston's balance on both sides of the ball does not
create a mismatch for the Bears, though. Chicago ranks third in scoring
offense (29.5) and second in scoring defense (15.0). The Bears have
rolled to six consecutive wins - their lone loss also came against the
Packers - on the strength of a dominant ball-hawking defense. Chicago
has forced 28 turnovers and is plus-16 in that department. The Texans
have won both previous meetings - 31-24 at home in 2008 and 24-5 in
Chicago in 2004.
TV: 8:20 p.m. ET, NBC. LINE: Bears -1, O/U 41
ABOUT THE TEXANS (7-1): Houston's only
loss came when it committed three turnovers - half of its season total -
so the Texans will need to take care of the ball against the
opportunistic Chicago defense. Quarterback Matt Schaub is likely to have
to put the ball in the air quite a bit, though, because the Bears rank
sixth in the league against the run. Schaub is 11-1 with 17 touchdowns
and five interceptions in his past 12 games.
ABOUT THE BEARS (7-1): Chicago has gone
as its quarterback and defense go, which so far has been stellar. Jay
Cutler has faced his ups and downs, but he has developed a strong
rapport with receiver Brandon Marshall, who leads the NFC with 797
receiving yards on 59 catches. The defense has helped the offense too,
not only by forcing so many turnovers but also by turning them into
touchdowns. Chicago has taken seven interceptions back for touchdowns.
EXTRA POINTS
1. Schaub needs 146 passing yards to reach 20,000 in his career.
2. Including playoff games, Cutler's teams are 26-0 when he has a rating of 100 or higher.
3. Houston RB Arian Foster has scored at least one
touchdown in 10 consecutive games and has topped 10 rushing scores for
the third consecutive season.
MONEYLINE COVERS - I going with Houston -1
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