Chicago Bears vs. Dallas Cowboys Preview (10/30/22): Betting Odds, Prediction, Depth Charts
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The Bears travel from New England to Dallas for their second straight road game. The Bears gained a crucial win on Monday Night Football, upsetting the Patriots by 19 points to move to 3-4. They now face the 5-2 Cowboys, who host their second home game in a row. Let’s check out the odds and matchups to see which NFC team will get the win at AT&T Stadium.
Chicago Bears Vs. Dallas Cowboys Betting Odds
The Cowboys (-9.5) are favored by the 3rd largest margin of the weekend over the Bears (+9.5). The over/under is set at a low 42.5, as both offenses are in the bottom 12 of scoring.
Chicago Bears Vs. Dallas Cowboys Prediction
Justin Fields and the Bears have a short week after their Monday night win versus the Patriots. The sudden scoring flurry that the Bears offense produced on Monday Night football can be explained by an opportunistic Bears defense forcing 4 turnovers against the Pats. . The Bears offense scored on 7/9 possessions which allowed them to reach a season high 33 points. Justin Fields not only threw for 179 yards and a touchdown, but added 82 yards and a touchdown on the ground. LB Roquan Smith had a monster game, coming up with a huge sack and this interception below.
Another takeaway for the defense! 😈
📺: #CHIvsNE on ESPN pic.twitter.com/mFqiwBDm2B
— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) October 25, 2022
The Cowboys got QB Dak Prescott back last week from his broken thumb after backup QB Cooper Rush went 4-1 filling in for Prescott. Despite their 5-2 record, the Cowboys are only third in their division as the NFC East is the most competitive it’s been in years. While the offense is only averaging 19.1 points per game after averaging 31 last year, the defense has carried this team. Dallas has the second best scoring defense, only giving up 14.9 points per game and the 4th best pass defense which has allowed just 185.1 pass yards per game. CB Trevon Diggs once again headlines this great pass defense. After leading the league in interceptions last year, he is tied for second this season with 3.
I’ll take the Cowboys to beat the Bears, but not cover. Given the large spread, and the Cowboys offense failing to live up to the #1 attack it was last year, the Bears will be able to keep this game close. I also expect the Cowboys defense to do a much better job at holding the Bears offense in check than the Patriots were able to.
Prediction: Cowboys 20-13, Under hits.
Betting Trends
- Bears are 2-5 ATS in their last 7 games following a ATS win
- Cowboys are 4-0 ATS in their last 4 home games vs. a team with a losing road record
Bears vs Cowboys Key Injuries
Chicago Bears Injuries: Lucas Patrick (Q), Alex Leatherwood (Q), David Moore (Q), Tavon Young (Q), Matthew Adams (O), Cody Whitehair (O), Byron Pringle (Q)
Dallas Cowboys Injuries: Ezekiel Elliott (Q), Jourdan Lewis (O), Matt Farniok (O), Ryan Nall (Q)
Key Matchups
The Bears Offensive Line vs the Cowboys Defensive Front
The Bears underwhelming offensive line faces a great challenge going up against the Cowboys defensive front. Justin Fields is the most sacked quarterback in the league, getting sacked an average of 3.86 times per game. Meanwhile, the Cowboys have gotten to the quarterback more than any team in the league. They’ve sacked opposing quarterbacks a total of 29 times all season, 5 more than the next closest team. Cowboys LB Micah Parsons has followed up on his defensive rookie of the year season with a tie for second place in sacks with 7 on the season.
Cowboys Run Offense vs Bears Run Defense
The Cowboys Ezekiel Elliott and Tony Pollard have a favorable matchup versus the Bears run defense which is tied for 3rd worst in the league, allowing 149.7 yards per game. Elliott, however, is questionable to play with a knee sprain and failed to practice Wednesday. Though Elliott had two touchdowns in last week’s game versus the Lions, the good news for Dallas is Pollard has been the more explosive back. For example, Pollard averaged 6.9 yards per carry last week compared to Elliott who ran for a pedestrian 3.8 yards per carry.
Chicago Bears Depth Chart
QB: Justin Fields
RB1: David Montgomery
RB2: Khalil Herbert
WR1: Darnell Mooney
WR2: Byron Pringle
WR3: Equanimeous St. Brown
TE1: Cole Kmettarget=”_blank”>Mike Gesicki
Dallas Cowboys Depth Chart
QB: Dak Prescott
RB1: Ezekiel Elliott
RB2: Tony Pollard
LWR: CeeDee Lamb
RWR: Michael Gallup
SWR: Noah Brown
TE1: Dalton Schultz
