NFL Picks Week 5: Chicago Bears Are Getting No Love on Monday Night Football

The Chicago Bears (2-2) will be that other team that you see on ESPN's Monday Night Football broadcast, as they go on the road to take on the Detroit Lions (4-0).

Las Vegas oddsmakers sent out the defending NFC North division champions as six-point road underdogs, which is the current line at most sports books around town. 

Casual sports bettors have fallen in love with the youthful squad from the Motor City, leading to more than 70 percent of wagers coming in on tonight's host.

The Windy City faithful should be thankful that their beloved team is dressed as an underdog in this series—something that hasn't happened since the 2005-06 season.

Chicago actually received points in both meetings that year, picking up a 38-6 win as 1.5-point home underdogs in Week 2, while coming away with a 19-13 overtime win in the Motor City when catching three points just six weeks later.

Playing in this prime-time event is nothing new for the Bears, posting a 5-1 against-the-spread record in their last six tries on Monday night.

During my time as a sports-book supervisor on Las Vegas Boulevard, I quickly learned that the casual bettor doesn't care about the point spread when betting high-profile games.

That's a drastic mistake from a value standpoint, as the Bears have been favored by an average of 6.25 points a contest in the last 10 meetings.

There's something very familiar with that number.

Oh, yeah—that's the amount of points the Lions are being asked to cover tonight.