Fangio & Pagano
Chichago Bears were offered a present in the opening week and they gladly accepted it. They entered the fourth quarter down 6 to 23 in Detroit, but managed to score 21 unanswered points and steal the win in MoTown. It looked like that reports from the training camp were not the standard BS that we're usually hearing from the coaches. Mitch Trubisky did look better in this game, compared to some of the games last season. Accuracy was not there all the time, but he made some nice throws, spreading the ball around efficiently for 242 yards, 3 touchdowns and no interceptions.
But what bothered me about the Bears was their defense. This is definitely not the same group from 2018, that was intimidating the opposing offense, both against the run and the pass. I thought that they would get back to where they were against the run, once Akiem Hicks got back from injury, but I was wrong. Adrian Peterson ran right through them with a 6.6 yards per carry average, for a nice 93 yards. The effect of Vic Fangio was even greater than I thought it was. Chuck Pagano is simply not getting the same level of production from this group as the former defensive coordinator.
Faster with Garrett calling plays
Looking at the boxscore, Giants didn't do all that well in their first game under new coaching staff. But I don't think everything was that bad. Yes, 6 (six) total yards on 15 carries by Saquan Barkley is a concern. But they had an ugly matchup vs Steelers scarry front that completely neutralised him. What I did like was their passing game. Jason Garrett added some tempo to this offense and drew up some plays where Daniel Jones was able to get the ball out of his hands quickly. And he executed those throws smoothly.
On the other side of the ball, they were solid against the run as usual. While the new faces in secondary proved their worth. James Bradberry was constantly around the ball, not allowing many passes to be completed in his coverage. I expect him to shadow Allen Robinson in this one in what looks like a very intriguing matchup.
Bears vs Giants betting tips
Once again, I'm leaning towards the underdog here. I'm higher on Giants than the market is, obviously. I believe their defense is pretty good (especially against the run) and that the offense has the firepower to go up-tempo and play from behind if needed. Golden Tate seems to be ready to go this time around, adding another weapon for Daniel Jones in the passing game.
Not pulling the trigger on any of the player props yet, but I'm looking to fade some of the Bears here. Montgomery had a solid outing in Detroit, but that Lions run defense is a finger-licking matchup for any RB. He'll have more problems vs Giants defense, that is capable of limiting opposing backs to sub 4 yards per carry. That stat, combined with his efficiency from last year and the fact that he is losing a lot of work to Tarik Cohen are all things that point towards the under in this situation. Another interesting player to fade could be Anthony Miller, who is coming off of a big game. He was wildly inconsistent in the first two years of his career and never really developed proper chemistry with Trubisky. He racked up most of his yardage late in the game last week, when two top corners from Detroit went down. He also played only 42 percent of the snaps. He is drawing a tough assignment this week vs Logan Ryan who is listed as FS, but does a lot of the work in the slot.
Also, don't forget to check out our new feature for comparing outright odds. If you're interested in who is the favorite to win NFC conference, you can check it with this link: https://theplayer.com/odds/american-football/usa/nfl/nfl-nfc-conference-winner
