Think of two teams you would least like to see featured on a primetime National Football League telecast. Maybe you’ve got some other dog teams in mind, but I’m betting the Chicago Bears and Washington Commanders are two that are near the top on your list of least liked NFL teams.
This contest between two also-rans is staged at Soldier Field tonight and offers a wagering proposition that is the Chicago Bears with one point on the spread or the Washington Commanders. Excuse the graphic nature of the next analogy, but this game is akin to the question that if you were up to your neck in shit, and someone threw a bucket of snot at you, would you duck?
I choose to duck tonight.
I’m not interested in this game because it doesn’t offer a clear wagering side, but because the side it shows has lost in good spots the past two weeks. When the Commanders visited Dallas two weeks ago, the Cowboys were coming off a couple big wins and in a prime spot where a team takes a dip.
But the Commanders didn’t let the Cowboys lose, instead took a two touchdown beating themselves, 25-10. Last week, the wise guys climbed on Washington for their contest against the Tennessee Titans at FedExField and drove the underdog Commanders to a pick ‘em in the final hour leading up to kickoff.
Trailing by four points, Carson Wentz led the Commanders on an 88-yard drive to the two-yard line, before throwing a game-ending interception with 6 second left on the clock. A bitter defeat for the team and a surprise loss for a large segment of the serious wagering community. Twice Washington was in an advantageous spot to grab a point spread win, and both times they failed.
So, the fact that they pop up again as the right side of tonight’s game does not have me rushing to the betting window.
Some teams, perhaps the Commanders this year, are just not good enough to be counted on even in advantageous situations. Some teams appear good enough to overcome even negative spots and win. As a rule, I like to eliminate both these extremes and land on selections with middle teams; teams good enough to win when the factors favor their chances, and not good enough to overcome a bad motivational spot.
The Bears and Commanders tangle tonight in Chicago, the Redskins are the right side of this play and I want nothing to do with them.