NFL Lines: Kansas City Chiefs vs. Chicago Bears

There’s a very good chance we’ll see Kyle Orton under center for Kansas City in Week 13.

The Chiefs were handed their fourth consecutive loss Sunday night. Pittsburgh took them down behind a 13-9 decision, but the home team covered the NFL lines as a 10.5-point underdog.

The Steelers came out of their bye week in a slumber. But fortunately for them, Tyler Palko was still directing the K.C. offense. His three interceptions and fumble single-handedly offset a lackluster Pittsburgh performance.

Palko just doesn’t have the experience or tools to compete at a high level in this league. His arm strength is poor, he makes bad reads and he forces passes. Orton should be the guy going forward.

Romeo Crennel’s defense came to play in Week 12 however. Rashard Mendenhall only managed 57 rushing yards and Ben Roethlisberger had fewer than 200 yards passing. Big Ben was only sacked once though and bringing down the opposing quarterback has been a problem all year for the Chiefs.

And at what point will we see that side of the ball quit because of the other side? You got the feeling the defense went all out against Pitt and the offense did nothing to help it. The defense is probably growing tired of seeing the offense give away games.

The Chiefs have scored 25 points in their last four outings.

Another daunting defense waits as Chicago looks to get back on track after a Week 12 loss. The Bears were defeated by Oakland on the road 25-20 and failed to cover the NFL lines as 3-point pups.

The loss snapped a five-game win streak and put Caleb Hanie’s NFL record as a starter at 0-1. Hanie made some nice plays in place of Jay Cutler but he also threw three picks and was sacked four times.

Chicago’s offense is certainly going to go through some growing pains with its new signal caller. Hanie can’t make the ridiculous throws under pressure that Cutler could. And when the game was on the line in the fourth quarter, Hanie made multiple mental mistakes.

Lovie Smith said that the Bears would lean on their running attack more with Hanie under center but that wasn’t the case Sunday. Even when the game was within reach, Mike Martz kept calling passes (27 total). Matt Forte only had 12 carries, and Marion Barber had 10. And that just doesn’t make sense.

To get into the playoffs without Cutler, the Bears must rely on the defense and Forte. Hanie should be throwing the ball no more than 20 times per game.

At 7-4, Chicago is tied with the Lions and Falcons in the race for a wild card spot but you can sense panic in the Windy City.