Fans are making their NFL Week 7 picks, and as far as the books are concerned, most of the money is behind the New England Patriots beating the Chicago Bears. NFL experts have made their Week 7 picks, and by a very large majority, they are also predicting that the Chicago Bears will lose to the New England Patriots. However, it should be noted that most of those picks came when news was still up in the air concerning Rob Gronkowski and Khalil Mack. Most NFL analysts gave their predictions when Gronkowski was expected to play for the Patriots and Mack was expected to be out for the Bears, and the exact opposite has happened; the New England tight end will be out for the game and the Chicago outside linebacker is expected to play, as reported on the official website for the NFL .
As far as the injury report goes, Chicago has Marcus Cooper (hamstring) listed as doubtful, and in addition to Mack, two players are listed as questionable: Bryce Callahan (ankle) and Allen Robinson (groin). New England has ruled out Marcus Cannon due to a concussion. A whopping 10 players for the Patriots have been listed as questionable, including Malcom Brown (knee), Julian Edelman (heel), Josh Gordon (hamstring), Eric Rowe (groin), Geneo Grissom (ankle), and Sony Michel (knee).
#Bears LB Khalil Mack, limited all week with a sprained ankled, is expected to play today vs. the #Patriots , I’m told. Good news for CHI, bad news for Tom Brady.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) October 21, 2018
How To Live Stream Chicago Bears Vs. New England Patriots
On Sunday, the 4-2 Patriots will travel to Soldier Field to take on the 3-2 Bears. The NFL action kicks off at 1 p.m. EST, on CBS. If you’re looking to live stream the game, as CBS documented, you can do so via CBS All Access and FuboTV, which both offer a free weeklong trial. If you want to catch the audio of the Week 7 showdown, XM Streaming 820 has the Patriots feed and XM Streaming 805 is carrying the Bears feed.
Check out a preview of the Week 7 matchup below, but keep in mind the recent news regarding Mack and Rob.
The Patriots Winless On The Road
All four of New England’s victories have taken place at Gillette Stadium this NFL season, and they have lost to the Lions and the Jaguars on the road. In Week 6, the Patriots narrowly beat the Kansas City Chiefs 43-40 in a shootout that may end up being the game of the NFL season. Tom Brady completed 24 of is 35 passes for 340 yards, one touchdown, and zero interceptions, and he also snuck the ball into the end zone for six.
Rob Gronkowski led the air assault in yardage with three receptions for 97 yards, though the dynamic tight end won’t be a factor in Week 7. Chris Hogan and Julian Edelman combined for eight receptions and 132 yards, and Edelman got a touchdown. Sony Michel led the ground report with 24 carries for 106 yards and two touchdowns. For the NFL season, the Patriots’ ground attack is averaging 123 yards per game.
#Patriots downgrade Rob Gronkowski to out. #NEvsCHI
— New England Patriots (@Patriots) October 21, 2018
Defensively, Jason McCourty recorded six tackles against the Chiefs, and his twin brother, Devin, had three. Duron Harmon and Dont’a Hightower had a pick each. Kicker Stephen Gostkowski once again came through for New England, making all five of his field goals and putting up 19 points on the scoreboard. For the NFL season, the Patriots’ D is allowing 21 points per game on average and 379 yards.
First-Place Bears Are Undefeated At Soldier Field
Chicago has found two of their three victories this season in both of their home games, and they currently sit on top of the NFC North. In Week 6, they narrowly lost to the Dolphins 31-28. Where the Bears’ defense is usually solid, they dropped the ball in Miami, though most analysts feel they will bounce back to their normal form in Week 7.
Against the Dolphins, Mitch Trubisky completed 22 of his 31 pass attempts for 316 yards, three touchdowns, and one interception, and he also carried the ball eight times for 47 yards. Taylor Gabriel led the air assault with five receptions for 110 yards. Allen Robinson, Anthony Miller, and Trey Burton logged a TD a piece.
Big day. BIG. #NEvsCHI | #CrucialCatch pic.twitter.com/aQLlkxxA5p
— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) October 21, 2018
Jordan Howard led the ground report with 14 carries for 69 yards, and Tarik Cohen had five carries for 31 yards and a TD. Defensively, Roquan Smith had 13 tackles, Adrian Amos logged 9, and Kyle Fuller found two interceptions. For the NFL season, the Bears’ D is allowing an average of 19.2 points per game and 343.8 yards, and Khalil Mack has a total of five sacks.
NFL Week 7 Picks & Odds For New England at Chicago
When this game first opened, most books had the Patriots favored to beat the Bears with a spread of -3.5. As of the time of this writing, most books have New England favored to beat Chicago with a line of -2, most likely because the sharp money is stacking up on the Bears with the recent above-mentioned news. Many NFL analysts feel that the Patriots will be relying on their run game, especially with Gronkowski out, and feel that the Chicago defense will allow no room for a run attack and will handle their air assault. In addition, the Bears play very toughly at home, and a litany of players for the Patriots are banged up or injured. While the majority of Week 7 picks are still with New England beating Chicago, recently, many NFL experts are expecting the Bears to handily beat the Patriots at Soldier Field.