SPORTS BETTING

• Chicago Bears vs. San Francisco 49ers 8:20 ET

  Posted on Wed, 11 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT by North Shore Sports, INC

  
  

  The first NFL Network Thursday Night Football telecast takes place this week in San Francisco, where the Chicago Bears (4-4, 4-4 ATS) will get it on with the San Francisco 49ers (3-5, 5-2-1 ATS).
   
  The Bears are coming off of a crippling 41-21 defeat at the hands of the Arizona Cardinals that really damaged their playoff hopes. That Arizona victory didn't do the Niners any favors either as they try to stay alive in the NFC West chase; San Fran lost to the Titans 34-27 in Week 9. The loser of this contest is surely to be in a world of hurt in the playoff picture in the NFC, so this game is of paramount importance.
   
  Tonight, the Niners are slender 3-point favorites, while the 'total' chimes in at 43.5.
   
  The boo birds were out at Soldier Field on Sunday afternoon as the Bears headed to the locker room facing a 31-7 deficit. They weren't a ton better in the second half, but QB Jay Cutler made things a little more interesting before Chicago ultimately faded to a 41-21 loss. The Vanderbilt product's numbers were impressive on Sunday afternoon, as he went 29/47 for 369 yards with three TDs against just one pick, but Bears' bettors expect to see victories, not flashy numbers out of the quarterback that they traded a mint for in the offseason.
   
  Chicago betting fans should be booing their defense just as much as their offense. Sure, the unit held Cleveland to just six points in Week 8, but that's Cleveland. Against its L/2 serious opponents, Arizona and Cincinnati, the Bears conceded a total of 86 points. If you throw out that Cleveland game, the L/4 opponents have scored an average of 32.8 points per game. No matter how good Cutler is, he's not going to be able to help out a defense playing that poorly.
   
  The 49ers tried their best to continue the woes of the Titans in Week 9, but 17 unanswered points in a span of less than five minutes in the fourth quarter really did them in. San Fran clearly has made strides on offense with QB Alex Smith taking over from incumbent Shaun Hill. Smith threw for 286 yards and two TDs on Sunday, but his three interceptions were critical.
   
  A defense that came into the week ranking third in the NFL against the run was torched by Tennessee for 152 yards. Since starting 3-1 and creaming the Rams 35-0 in Week 4, the 49ers are now 0-4 SU and just 1-2-1 ATS their L/4 games.
   
  The last time the 49ers won a game against the Bears was back in 2003 when they laid a 49-7 beat down on them. Since then, Chicago is 3-0 SU and 2-1 ATS, and the last meeting between the teams ended in a bad 41-10 loss for San Fran. If there's a positive to look at for SF bettors, it's that all three of those losses came in the Windy City. San Francisco is a perfect 6-0 SU and ATS at home against the Bears since 1985.
   
  Whether you plan on sticking with San Fran or cashing in on Chicago, Bookmaker.com can handle all of your action for this NFL Week 10 Thursday nighter! Login to your account right now!