MNF odds and betting tips: Cooper Kupp will torch the Bears

The bright lights of Monday Night Football welcome two NFC playoff hopefuls in the Rams and the Bears, in what is teed up to be a fascinating clash of wills. Both teams have a top six defence in terms of points per game this season, but while L.A. boast a fast-paced electric offence, Chicago relies heavily on its defense and does just enough when its offense takes the field.

Chicago is 5-1 through six games heading to the Rams, who are 4-2 and trying to come to terms with a shocking loss to the 49ers. SoFi Stadium is set to go, as are we with four prop bets to keep an eye on tonight.

BOOM: Darrell Henderson (Over 53.5 rushing yards -115)

The Rams backfield can be as tricky to solve as a Rubik’s Cube while blindfolded, especially when Sean McVay says he’ll play whoever has the hot hand on a game-to-game basis. But the good news for Henderson fans is that he’s had 15 touches against Washington in Week 5 and 14 against the 49ers in Week 6.

Henderson has been averaging a solid 4.8 yards per carry this season, and the Bears can certainly be taken advantage of on the ground. Ronald Jones (106 yards), Jonathan Taylor (68 yards), Todd Gurley (80 yards), Brian Hill (58 yards), and Adrian Peterson (93 yards) have all eaten up the ground against Chicago in bruising encounters.

The Rams are 6-point favourites but this looks set to be another intense and competitive encounter, with Henderson getting plenty of opportunities to rack up the yards.

BUST: Nick Foles (Under 1.5 passing TDs -150)

The fact that the Bears are 3-1 with Foles under centre is quite remarkable. Bar a three-touchdown performance in Week 3 against Atlanta, Foles has followed up with just one TD and one interception in each of his last three games.

The Bears average just 21.3 points per game (27th in the NFL), while the Rams give up just 19 points per game (4th in the NFL).

Jimmy G and Josh Allen saw great success against the Rams, but they may be the exception to the rule. Dak Prescott, Carson Wentz, Daniel Jones, and Kyle Allen all went for one passing TD or fewer, and Foles can add his name to that list on Monday.

BOOM: David Montgomery (Over 22.5 receiving yards -130)

Since Tarik Cohen has been out of action, David Montgomery has seen plenty of time as a pass-catching running back. He’s received 19 targets in the last three games and has a minimum of three catches and 30 yards in each of those matches.

Despite the Rams' strong defence, there is an angle here that appeals. They have given up eight targets per game to running backs, and an average of 6.1 yards per target. Those kinds of figures make Montgomery very appealing as the guy who could take advantage through the air.

The line looks low here and I’d be confident that another three catches will take Montgomery over 23 yards.

BOOM: Cooper Kupp (Over 60.5 receiving yards -115)

Kupp had a lovely little run of games with 60+ receiving yards come grinding to a halt in Week 6 against the 49ers. He just never got going in the defeat, hauling in three catches from nine targets for just 11 yards.

Before that, however, Kupp had at least five catches and 66 yards in four straight weeks against the Eagles, Bills, Giants, and Washington.

The targets are steady, with Kupp likely to get eight or nine looks, and while the Bears pass defence has been strong, Kupp is likely to go toe-to-toe with Buster Skrine. Skrine has allowed 22 catches and 243 yards from 32 pass attempts this season which Kupp can exploit.

D.J. Moore and Robby Anderson put up 93 yards and 77 yards respectively against the Bears in Week 6, while Danny Amendola also raked up 81 yards off five catches and Calvin Ridley turned his five catches into 110 yards in Week 3.

That should give Kupp some confidence, and I’m backing him to have a bounce-back game here.

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