Da, Bears. We all know that once football season rolls around, our attention shifts to whatever is going on with the Chicago Bears. Heck, most of us have grown up with them. Many of us inherited our love of the Bears from our parents who dressed us up in Bears clothing while we were still in diapers. The Bears are not just the hometown NFL team to us – it’s part of our family. The team is that one family member that you always love no matter how much they screw up during the year.
The Bears could have a record-setting bad year on the field and we’ll blame it on anything other than the team. It was the weather, the direction of the wind, how much snow fell that day, how full the parking lot at Soldier Field was, where you had to park for that home game, who was on the cover of the game day program, you name it. We are so proud of our team that nothing much fazes us when they perform poorly in a season. That includes the stats. In this article, we will look at five things (backed up by stats) you should know about the Bears winning odds this season.
The Bears Future Odds Are Well, Odd
Any idea what future odds are? Futures, as they are known in sportsbooks, are long-term bets that have varying ranges. They can run for just the offseason, from the offseason to a complete regular season, and even beyond the end of a season. The win totals of a team, who on the team wins awards, and individual player performance are all common futures. Here are the futures for the Bears this season:
Future Current Odds Preseason Odds
Bears odds to win Super Bowl LVI +15000 +8000
Bears odds to win NFC +8000 +3500
Bears odds to win NFC North +1400 +550
Bears odds to make playoffs +300 +210
Chicago Bears win total 6.5 (+120) 7.5 (+100)
Prop Bets – The Simplest Bet Is Moneyline
The whole idea behind a Moneyline bet is that you just have to correctly select the straight-up winner and loser of any game based on specific NFL betting odds. The odds for these bets will look something like this:
Bears -185 Panthers +310
In this example, bookmakers have chosen the Bears to be heavy favorites against Carolina. The -185 means that a $185 bet will win $100 (plus the initial bet) should the Bears win the game. As the Panthers are underdogs in this example, a $100 bet would pay out $410, or give the bettor $310 in winnings if Carolina pulls off the win. In Moneyline betting, the margin of victory on the scoreboard does not impact the payout amount as the bet is for who wins and who loses the game.
Prop Bets – Picking The Point Spread
The Point Spread bet is a bit more tricky in that it depends entirely on how many points a team wins or loses. In other words, the scoreboard comes into play at the end of a game. As an example, let’s say the Bears’ odds are -2.5 (-110) and they are playing the Seahawks which have odds of +2.5 (-110). This tells us that the Bears are the favorite and expected to win by 2.5 points (-2.5). If the Bears take the victory with a score of 23-20, a $10 bet on them to win would pay out $19.09. If the Seahawks keep the game within three points and lose with a score of 23-21, Seattle would win the bet and the payout would be the same on a $10 wager. Got that?
Prop Bets – Point Total Or, The Good Ol’ Over/Under Bet
With this kind of bet, the Point Total references the Over/Under line that bookmakers set for a game. The point total is self-explanatory – it is the total number of points scored in a game. For example, the Bears bet the Browns 20-17. The total points for this game would be 37. A bettor wagers on whether or not the total points for that game will be over or under the bookmaker’s line. Say the bookmakers put the over/under at 40.5 for this game, a winning bet would have been on the points total being under 40.5.
In-Play and Live Betting
For Bears fans, often the most exciting (and rewarding) bets are those made during the game. They have a name and are commonly called live bets but they are also known as in-play bets. With odds changing frequently during a game, live bets can be quite profitable for bettors who have a handle on what’s going on and can shift their betting to move along with the way the game is being played. For example, a game between the Bears and the 49ers may have Chicago as heavy favorites at kickoff, but costly mistakes on the field leave the Bear trailing by two touchdowns at halftime could see the odds shift to favoring San Francisco. Bettors would have many interesting betting options as a result of live bets.
Some Stats To Consider
It was relatively quiet in the 2021 offseason for the Bears. They had no trades and re-signed only a handful of players including WR Allen Robinson (franchise tag), OL Germain Ifedi ($5 million for one year), S Deon Bush ($1.5 million for one year), S Tasahun Gipson ($1.8 million for one year). The team lost three free agents (QB Mitchell Trubisky to Buffalo, CB Kyle Fuller to Denver, T Charles Leno Jr to Washington) and signed three free agents (QB Andy Dalton – $10 million for one year, WR Damiere Byrd – $1.1 million for one year, T Elijah Wilkinson – $1.3 million for one year). The team did pick up four draft picks including QB Justin Fields, OT Teven Jenkins, RB Khalil Herbert, WR Dazz Newsmen.
Final Thoughts
If you are a Bears fan, and who isn’t, the bookmakers have set in motion some nice odds for bettors seeking to capitalize on the solid performance of their favorite team. Fortunately, there are many different types of bets available and with the Bears as one of the components, gamblers won’t go wrong betting for (or against) their hometown team.
