Most teams who finish the season dead even at 8-8 do not make the NFL Playoffs. But those who do fare quite well. In fact, since 2000, there have been a total of five teams that went into the playoffs with an 8-8 record and those five teams combined to go 4-1 in the opening round.
However, the Saints have been dominating of late, winning their fourth consecutive NFC South division with ease, led by future Hall of Fame quarterback Drew Brees. Even at the age of 41 Brees continues to produce, leading the Saints to a 12-4 record with 26 touchdowns vs. just 6 interceptions this season.
Bookmaker William Hill is currently predicting a double-digit win for the hometown Saints, also giving the over/under at 47.
※ Current Odds Date & Time: January 8th, 10:00 P.M. (EST)
But let’s not forget Week 8, when the Saints needed overtime to squeak past Nick Foles and the Bears with a wild 26-23 win. This time the Bears will have a much stronger quarterback in Mitchell Trubisky, and he says they will be playing this game with nothing to lose: “We know everybody is overlooking us. They have the back half of the season. I think we have been just playing with that edge, that chip on our shoulder. … We’ve got to be locked into the small details of our game plan and our job descriptions and just play hard and play with a lot of passion and will. And if we do that, I think we’ll give ourselves a good chance.”
“We started off at 5-1, then we hit that six-game stretch, then we won three in a row, and then you lose to the Packers in the last game of the season in a big division game that means a lot,” Bears head coach Matt Nagy said on Wednesday. “You end up 8-8 and you realize you’re playing a team that has a ton of playoff experience at the head coach position and quarterback position, let alone the rest of their staff and players. So when you look at that, you can understand where people are coming from.”
Can New Orleans assert control and cover a 10 point spread? Can the Bears keep it close with a David vs. Goliath mentality and even upset the Saints? Don’t miss out on this one!
