NEWSLETTER
You knew that whole thing where the Chicago Bears entered a game as favorites wasn’t going to last forever. Right?
The New England Patriots will head to Soldier Field as 3.5-point favorites, according to the Westgate Superbook in Las Vegas. That’s right, the Bears are home underdogs – just as the Dolphins were going into Week 6. To put it in proper context, oddsmakers usually give the team with home-field advantage a three-point edge. So in a way, the folks in Vegas view the Patriots as a 6.5-point favorites in this game.
No matter which way you slice it, the Patriots are favored to beat the Bears. And with an over/under set at 49.5, oddsmakers view Sunday’s Week 7 showdown as a potential high-scoring affair.
Here’s some perspective: only three games (Bengals-Chiefs, 58.5; Giants-Falcons, 54.5; Rams-49ers 53) are expected to produce a higher point total than Sunday’s Bears-Patriots battle. Both teams flexed their offensive muscle on Sunday with the Bears putting up 28 second-half points and the Patriots scoring 43 in a wildly entertaining win against the Chiefs. And since the weather doesn’t call for temperatures that have the heat index hitting triple digits, it’s possible Chicago’s defense might have a puncher’s chance to pick up a stop or two.
I don’t think beating the Dolphins would have changed anything from a wagering perspective. The Patriots figured to be favored heading into this game, so long as they were healthy entering Week 7. Now the Bears get to wear the underdog cap for a week, which is something that could serve as a motivational tool after a humbling defeat in Miami.
