The New Orleans Saints and Chicago Bears are both sitting at 5-8 on the season, lackluster records given some of the success both teams have seen in recent seasons. But the Saints have a whole lot more to play for at this point in the season. They both have losing records, but only the Bears are eliminated from playoff contention, while the Saints are benefiting from a truly terrible NFC South and still have a shot at making the playoffs.
Saints vs. Bears 2014 picks and predictions: Experts split on ‘Monday Night Football’ matchup
The New Orleans Saints have a lot more to play for than the Chicago Bears, and the two will meet in a Week 15 matchup on “Monday Night Football.”
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The NFC South is the worst division in football, but whatever team wins it is still in the postseason. And anything can happen at that point. The Saints would take over the division lead with a win. The possibility of the division winner having a losing record is very real, but the Saints can’t afford to lose any more games at this point. The Carolina Panthers, despite their 5-8-1 record, currently hold the division lead.
Those same Panthers just dominated the Saints, 41-10, in Week 14. It was as lopsided loss as you'll see this season, and the Saints desperately need to bounce back. The Bears have plenty of their own struggles, as they've lost their past two games, one of which was a 41-28 defeat at the hands of the Dallas Cowboys. There's talk of people within the organization resenting the big contract given to quarterback Jay Cutler and folks are questioning the job security of head coach Marc Trestman.
In other words: both these teams are kind of a mess right now. But, the Saints should be the more motivated squad on Monday, and they should be favored to win. It’s looking like experts around the Internet are mostly in agreement with this point, too. Of the 13 experts picking for ESPN, 11 of them picked the Saints. Over at CBS Sports, they’re split at four for the Saints and four for the Bears. Four of the six experts at FOX Sports are going with the Saints.
Here at SB Nation, the experts actually favor the Bears, with five of the eight going in their direction.
| Ryan Van Bibber | Stephen White | Joel Thorman | David Fucillo | Danny Kelly | PFT Commenter | Matt Ufford | OddsShark Computer | |
| NO @ CHI | CHI | CHI | NO | CHI | CHI | CHI | NO | NO |
★★★
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