Oddsmakers Say 3 Points Separate Chicago Bears and Pittsburgh Steelers

NFL News - September 16th, 2009 - Written by John

If Jay Cutler feels like he stepped into a hornet's nest in his first game at Lambeau Field, wait until this week.

The Bears, coming off a gut-punching loss against the Packers Sunday night, will have to find a way to rebound against the defending Super Bowl Champions this week when the Bears host Pittsburgh. Cutler was awful in his debut with Chicago, throwing four picks, including a game-clincher by Al Harris with a minute left in the game.

His uninspired reaction after the game left many media members in Chicago blasting the three-year veteran for not showing any desire for atonement. Jim Mora, of the NFL Network was quoted after the game, saying, ""I thought he looked completely immature. He acted like he didn't even care."

The Chicago Tribune recently ran a headline professing, "Someone must tell Cutler to wise up". In the article, Rick Morrissey argues that his non-chalant attitude is offensive and someone in the Bears' organization needs to tell him "the team needs a smart, in-control quarterback. A fiery quarterback, not a foolish one".

Especially this week.

Cutler will get another tough match-up when his Bears are three-point dogs against the Steelers. Thankfully, Pittsburgh will be without their top defender, Troy Polomalu. The All-Pro injured his knee against the Titans and is expected to miss 3-6 weeks. They will still have one of the best defenses in the NFL, however. They were efficient in the home opener, holding the Titans to only 10 points and kept Chris Johnson fenced in for most of the game.

Not to mention Pittsburgh has one of the best late-inning quarterbacks in the NFL in Ben Roethlisberger. He actually manufactured two winning drives in the opener, when he led the Steelers down the field in the final seconds of the game before Hines Ward fumbled at the five send it into overtime.

Upon learning the Steelers won the toss, it was reported, Roethlisberger told a ball boy to get his hat (the one he wears post-game) immediately, indicating that he knew the game would be over soon. He promptly marched his team into scoring range once again before Jeff Reed sailed his  ---yard field goal through.

The Steelers are favored by three points on BetUS, a generous margin probably only because they are one the road. However, taking Pittsburgh with the spread will net a payout of +105, while a bet on Chicago will give a return of -125.

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