The 2023 NFL regular season is still many months away, but excitement is already growing since the league announced the full slate of regular season games last week. Fans looking to travel for an away game or two have started making accommodations. Primetime matchups have been circled on calendars. And now, eager sports bettors can start placing wagers.
Oddsmakers at PointsBet released their lines for Week 1 of the NFL season, and they believe the Bears have a good shot to start their season 1-0. As of Monday afternoon, the Bears are 2.5 point favorites over the Packers.
There’s good reason to believe the Bears can beat the Pack by a field goal at Soldier Field to start the season. To start, Aaron Rodgers is gone and Jordan Love is in charge of the offense now. Love hasn’t seen much playing time since he was drafted in 2020, and he’s shown a wide variance in limited action. At times he’s looked lost on the field, but in other instances he’s looked capable of taking over the reins. Meanwhile, many expect the Bears offense to be much improved with DJ Moore and Darnell Wright in the fold.
However, there are reasons to believe the Bears could be on upset alert already. The Packers have a formidable defensive line and we still don’t know how the Bears new-look offensive lineー which features four players making a change from 2022ー will come together. Further, the Packers still feature two top-tier running backs in
Aaron Jones and A.J. Dillon, and there are just as many questions on the Bears defensive line as they have on the offensive line.
Regardless of the outcome, the fact that oddsmakers have the Bears as favorites over their bitter foes signals a slight shift in the rivalry. The Bears haven’t beaten the Packers since 2018, and haven’t been particularly close to winning a game over the past four years either.
