Lions vs. Bears Final Score Prediction for NFL Week 16 (Detroit's Injuries Will Haunt Them)

Iain MacMillan | 7 Hours Ago

The Lions are big-time favorites in Chicago in Week 16. / Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Detroit Lions have been the best team in the NFL for the majority of the season, but their plethora of injuries are causing them to limp to the finish line.

They head to Chicago in Week 16 to take on the Bears in an NFC North opponent. The Lions are still in control of the No. 1 seed in the conference but they can't allow the Bears to sneak one by them if they want the first round BYE and homefield advantage.

Let's take a look at the latest odds for this game and then I'll predict the final score.

Lions vs. Bears Odds, Spread, and Total

Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook

Spread

• Lions -6.5 (-110)
• Bears +6.5 (-110)

Moneyline

• Lions -285
• Bears +230

Total

• OVER 48 (-110)
• UNDER 48 (-110)

The Lions opened as 7.5-point favorites on Sunday night, but the line has since shifted down a point to Lions -6.5. The one point movement is more significant than most because it crossed the key number of seven. The total for the game increased a point and a half from 46.5 to 48.0.

Lions vs. Bears Final Score Prediction

In this week's edition of the "Road to 272 Bets", I broke down why I'm going to take the points with the underdog Bears:

It's hard to lay a touchdown on the Lions on the road when you consider how banged-up this team is. On top of the plethora of injuries they were already dealing with, the Lions last David Montgomery, Khalil Dorsey, Carlton Davis III, Alim McNeill, and Trevor Nowaske in Week 15 against the Bills. A team can only take so many injuries before they're significantly affected and I think the Lions just hit their tipping point.

Let's consider the Bears still have some weapons offensively and a solid defense. A team this young is going to continue to fight in the final weeks of the season, despite having no hope for a playoff spot. Do they pull off the upset? Likely not, but this is absolutely a situation where I'll bet them getting a touchdown worth of points.

When it comes to the total, I'll take the OVER. The Montgomery injury hurts the Lions offense, but not as much as the list of defensive injuries they've suffered. As bad as the Bears offense has been at times this season, they should find at least some level of success against a lineup of defensive backups.

Final score prediction: Lions 24, Bears 27

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Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

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