NFL Preseason Week 2 Chicago vs New England Free Picks

The Chicago Bears looked absolutely horrendous and sickeningly powerless in their Week 1 preseason encounter against the Denver Broncos, who outplayed them in every aspect of the game and condemned the hosts to a senseless 22-0 shellacking. That was certainly not the kind of performance the Chicago fans were expecting after the team forked out a number of big-money contracts and poured millions of dollars in offseason to improve the roster on both sides of the ball. If the Bears are going to factor in their division this season, let alone compete for a chance to reach the playoffs, a much better performance will be required from them when they travel to the Foxboro this Thursday to take on Jimmy Garoppolo and the New England Patriots. Ahead of this showdown, here’s a brief NFL betting lines preview of the game.

NFL Preseason Week 2 Bears vs Patriots Free Picks

Where: Gillette Stadium, Foxboro When: Thursday, August 18, 2016 8:00 PM ET TV: FOX (Chicago) and WBZ (New England) NFL Lines: Chicago (+4), New England (-4), OVER/UNDER 40.5    

Why Bet on Chicago

In all honesty, it’s really hard to find any positives to talk about here because the Bears were really that bad, and that’s putting it lightly. Okay, we kind of expected Denver’s legendary defense to put the clamps on the Bears, but shutting out the hosts for the first time in their preseason since 1981 was another thing altogether. Meanwhile, Chicago Bears’ defense was sliced like a hot knife cutting through butter, yielding seven sacks and making Denver’s make-shift offense look like a proven Big Ben-led Pittsburgh offense. Good news, though, is that after such a performance, there is no way the Bears can play any worse, so the team has no option but to play better this Thursday. And for that to happen, Jeremy Langford and Jacquiz Rodgers will need to do better than the 6 carries for 12 yards they combined for against Denver. The same goes for Jay Cutler (who will probably see more time on the field) along with his backups. Defensively, everyone must step up, and that includes new veterans Khaled Holmes and Shelley Smith who were signed by the Bears this week.  It’s too much of a turnaround to ask in one week, but it is certainly doable, considering Garoppolo and gang didn’t look anywhere close to being perfect in their preseason victory.

Why Bet on New England

So, Garoppolo did finally make his preseason debut, and as most of you would have guessed, he wasn’t even half the wit of Tom Brady with the ball. Even so, he managed to go 11-of-18 for 168 with zero TDs and zero picks, so you can say he wasn’t that bad. And he probably didn’t need to be at the top of his game, as the running game was on point, with LeGarrette Blount and gang rushing for two of the team’s four scores against the Saints, with New England’s defense chipping in with the other two scores. One may say that allowing 22 points in their 12-point win over the Saints wasn’t the strongest of shows from New England’s defense, and I definitely agree that things need to be tighter on that side of the ball. Even so, it doesn’t take a genius to say the Pats did a lot of good in their defense, and more of the same performance (plus a couple of scores from the offense) should be able to earn the team another preseason victory this Thursday.

Expert NFL Picks and Predictions

The Bears will show up in a better way to record a couple of scores, but New England will still manage to come out on top rather easily, as Garoppolo throws for his first 2016 preseason TD.

Final Score Prediction: New England 26, Chicago 18

Best Pick: New England (-4)