CHICAGO BEARS @ DENVER BRONCOS 
Vegas Line: Bears + 3
Rob’s Line: Bears + 5.5
What will Tim Tebow conjure up for the hometown faithful this week? This was potentially a wonderful matchup heading in to the crucial weeks leading up to the playoffs, but Chicago losing quarterback Jay Cutler (possibly for the rest of the season) and now the best football player in the NFL, running back Matt Forte, for an indefinite period makes them infinitely weaker and that was borne out by last week’s disappointing 10-3 reversal at home to Kansas City.
However, Denver, as we know, and in particular Tebow, have developed a penchant for keeping games close until, at the very end, Tebow dons his cape and saves the Broncos from the evil villain it is of whoever they’re playing.
We should all just be sitting back and enjoying what’s happening in and around Denver because we’ll sure as hell miss it when it’s gone. Tebow continues to polarise opinion, but if you’re a Broncos fan, he’s winning games for your club and he doesn’t seem to know when he’s beaten. That may change in 2012 when defenses would have made the necessary adjustments, but I’m determined to enjoy this while I can and I certainly have no love for the Broncos.
So, the Bears can live in hope that this one goes down to the wire at the very least. Caleb Hanie will continue at QB in the absence of Cutler, but he’s been something of a disaster area the last two weeks, throwing for two touchdowns and six interceptions with a quarterback rating averaging out at 40. Deputising for Forte will be Marion Barber and Kahlil Bell and while Barber should see the majority of the carries, this is a Mike Martz offense so guessing is idiotic.
Before shipping 32 points to Minnesota last week, the Broncos’ defense had stiffened in recent weeks, giving up only an average of twelve points to the Chargers, Jets and Chiefs. They only rank 20th against the run and 23rd against the pass, but as I alluded to earlier, the Bears are severely wounded without Cutler and Forte and it’s difficult not to envision Hanie making mistakes.
With the Broncos basically handing their whole offense over to Tebow and playing to his strengths, namely letting him not make mistakes by throwing the ball too much, thus giving him licence to roam free, it’s no surprise that Denver leads the league in rushing yards per game. However, the Bears possess the league’s eighth ranked run defense so Tebow and the in form Willis McGahee are up against a formidable foe.
This promises to be a low scoring affair, which equates to taking the points on offer, but I worry about placing too much faith in Hanie, especially on the road against a team with an immeasurable amount of belief in themselves. Broncos to cover and without leaving it to the very last minute.
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