Bears vs Steelers – Best Team and Player Prop Bets for MNF Week 9

• The Chicago Bears (3-5) visit the Pittsburgh Steelers (4-3) to cap off Week 9 on Monday Night Football
• Week 8 Record: 1-4, -2.63; 2021 Record: 10-18, -7.09 units
• Kickoff is set for 8:15 pm EST from Heinz Field in Pittsburgh

On Monday night, two teams in limbo will face off in a game that could go a long way to helping, or hurting their playoff chances.

The Bears are likely out of contention for the NFC North thanks to their three-game losing streak. Barring a collapse, the 7-2 Packers will be impossible to catch. But a win keeps the Bears in contention for the last Wild Card spot.

Pittsburgh is coming off of a surprising, and ugly, win over the Browns. The opened Week 9 sitting third in the AFC North and in possession of the final Wild Card spot.

Kickoff on ESPN from Heinz Field will be at 8:15 pm EST on Monday night.

Bears vs Steelers Props

Odds as of November 7th at DraftKings

*Indicates Pass + Rush yards

The Steelers are strong home favorites, with a spread bouncing between 6.0 and 6.5. There’s not a lot of scoring expected on Monday night, with the total hovering around 39.

In 15 combined games, these two teams have posted three overs in 2021.

Mooney Makes Most of Opportunities

Darnell Mooney is certainly enjoying his second-year jump.

In his rookie season, Mooney was targeted 98 times and brought in 61 of them, resulting in 631 yards and four touchdowns.

While he only has one score to his name so far, his targets, yards and yards-per-reception are all up. In 2020 he had just one game with four or more catches over his first seven. He’s got five games with at least four catches in just eight games this season.

Darnell Mooney saw a season high 9 targets in week 8, good for a 33.3% share. Mooney has been the WR1 in Chicago, at least in terms of usage this season. It's still hard to trust him on a weekly basis but it's a good sign that Fields clearly has eyes for him #DaBears

— Aidan Asby (@OutInSpaceFF) November 4, 2021

The Steelers allowed just two Browns to haul in four or more balls last week: Jarvis Landry and Austin Hooper. Pittsburgh has been allowing high-volume numbers since Week 1. In four of their first five games, the Steelers allowed at least two opposing receivers to make four catches. After that they faced Geno Smith and a hobbled Baker Mayfield.

If there’s one receiver Justin Fields has loved throwing to, it’s Mooney. And while that +125 on Allen Robinson’s over is tempting, stick with Chicago’s new number one receiver.

• The Pick: Darnell Mooney OVER 3.5 catches (-110), 1 unit

Harris Hitting His Stride

Over the last three weeks, Najee Harris has looked like everything the Steelers were hoping they were getting at 24th overall.

Taking his 14-catch game against the Bengals out of consideration, Harris didn’t ‘wow’ on the ground through the first three weeks. Then in Week 4, his yards-per-carry rose above four for the first time. The three games after that, Harris has logged 122, 81 and 91 rushing yards, running it at least 23 times each game.

#Bears DC Sean Desai on #Steelers rookie RB Najee Harris: "He's pretty much everything."

— Patrick Finley (@patrickfinley) November 5, 2021

Harris’ three-game explosion coincides with the Bears’ three-game stretch of struggling against the run.

Chicago allowed just two 75+ yard rushers the first five weeks of the season. Both came in Week 3 against the Browns. But over the last three weeks, the Bears have given up 76, 81 and 137 on the ground.

Steelers RB Najee Harris named NFL Offensive Rookie of the Month.

October stats: 4 TDs, 356 yards rushing, 124 yards receiving, 120 average scrimmage yards/game

— Brooke Pryor (@bepryor) November 4, 2021

Despite the spread, this doesn’t feel like a game where the Steelers are going to spend a ton of time killing the clock. But even Monday night is closer than expected, Pittsburgh is going to want to maintain balance on offense. Especially since the Bears pass rush should be able to get after Ben Roethlisberger.

Big Ben will need a good performance out of his rookie runner to open things up in the secondary. And he should get it.

• The Pick: Najee Harris OVER 79.5 rushing yards (-115); 1 unit

Bears vs Steelers Scoring Props

Odds as of November 7th at DraftKings

The Steelers’ ability to score first matches their record: 4-3. While Najee Harris is the heavy favorite to open the scoring, Big Ben may be more likely to take to the skies. Diontae Johnson has been on the receiving end of two opening TDs, with Harris catching one. At +750, it’s a nice chance to take.

Chicago meanwhile, has scored first in five of their eight games. The thing that makes it difficult, is that it’s been five different TD scorers to open things up.

There’s a lot of uncertainty on the ground with the Bears. No one knows how much David Montgomery will play, which directly effects Khalil Herbert and his odds. But it won’t hinder Justin Fields.

Fields has only scored two rushing TDs on the year, and his first one came all the way back in Week 1 when he wasn’t even starting. The rookie QB has at least six rushing attempts in each of his last three games though, which keeps him in the conversation.

Arguably the three most exciting offensive players in this game are Harris, Johnson and Fields. So it doesn’t hurt to back all three.

• Diontae Johnson to score FIRST touchdown (+750), 0.5 units
• Diontae Johnson (+150), Najee Harris (-150), and Justin Fields (+275) to score ANYTIME, 0.5 units each