An important matchup between the AFC and NFC in Week 11 gets underway at 1 pm ET with coverage on Fox. The Chicago Bears will visit the Baltimore Ravens in a game that has very important implications for both concerning their respective division races.
- When:
Sun, Nov. 17th, 2013 @ 1:00pm ET
- Where:
Soldier Field, Chicago, IL
- Who’s Favored?
Bears by 2.5 ~ 46.5 o/u @ BetOnline
- More Info:
Both the Bears and Ravens played in similar games this past Sunday against division rivals who were either in first place or tied for first place. Baltimore came out on top over Cincinnati to gain ground on the Bengals. Unfortunately for Chicago it was a loss to Detroit, which dropped them from being in a tie with the Lions in the NFC North to one game behind.
The win over the Bengals move the Ravens to just 1.5 games behind Cincinnati in the division. That makes this game against the Bears very important in the chase. But then on the other side you’ve got a Chicago team needing to take advantage of their opportunities, especially with Green Bay being without Aaron Rodgers. That has left the door open for both the Lions and the Bears to gain ground and pass the Packers.
As for the Ravens, it was a much-needed victory over Cincinnati for more than the simple fact it was a division victory over the leader to bring them closer. The win snapped a three-game losing streak, and four losses in five games. In spite of the three losses in a row, the defending Super Bowl champions are still well within striking distance to chase down the Bengals.
The key for Chicago in this one will be to get Matt Forte going early. Forte is one of the most dynamic playmakers in the NFL, who can catch the ball out of the backfield just as well as he can run it. The threat of Forte merits attention from a defense, which frees up playmakers on the outside like Brandon Marshall.
As for Baltimore, it’s a combination of different factors. They still have the NFL’s third-worst rushing offense at 73 yards per game. It wasn’t very good against the Bengals even though they won. To win consistently though they will have to keep going back to the run and trying to win the line of scrimmage.