With one game left in the regular season, the Bears have proven to be a lot better than they were expected to be. And the Raiders have proven to be a lot worse.
According to the betting site Bovada, the 11-4 Bears are an NFL-high five games over the preseason over-under betting total set by the Vegas oddsmakers. The 3-11 Raiders are an NFL-worst five games under their preseason win total, heading into Monday night’s game.
It’s no secret that the Khalil Mack trade was a part of that, with Mack going from the Raiders to the Bears just before the start of the season. That made the Bears’ defense better and the Raiders’ defense worse, and it also encapsulated the win-now mentality that went into the Bears’ other personnel moves, as well as the build-for-the-future mentality of Jon Gruden, who would later trade away Amari Cooper among other moves that made it clear his goal was not about winning in 2018.
The other team that did particularly well compared to its preseason over-under lines was New Orleans, which is 13-2, four games better than its preseason over-under. After the Raiders, the two teams that did worst compared to preseason expectations were the Packers and Jaguars, who are both four wins below their preseason over-unders.
