Chicago Bears vs Green Bay Packers NFL Odds, Betting Preview 9/9/18

The Sunday night schedule kicks off with a battle of longtime rivals from the NFC North will take place as the Chicago Bears rumble with the Green Bay Packers. This game has a start time of 8:20 and will take place at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Bears were a miserable 5-11 last year, while the Packers went just 7-9. Both teams have high hopes for this year.  

Lines:  Green Bay -7… Over/Under 47

A Look At The Bears

The Chicago Bears went just 5-11 last year, but they have high hopes for a turnaround this year. The biggest move they made came about a week ago as they traded away a gazillion draft picks to the Raiders for Khalil Mack. He could be worth all they paid to get him as he is a complete game changer on that side of the ball. He had 40.5 sacks and nine fumbles forced in his four years with the Raiders. The bears already had a good defense as they were 10th in yards and 9th in points allowed last year. This defense has just become so much better and it will have to be good against a Green Bay offense that has Rodgers back under center.

The problem for the Bears last year was their offense, which ranked 30th in the league in yards gained and 29th in scoring, putting up just 16.5 ppg. Mitch Trubisky didn’t have a great rookie season, but he now has a year under his belt and the Bears have given him some new toys to play with. WR’s Allen Robinson and Taylor Gabriel along with tight end Trey Burton and 2nd round pick Anthony Miller have all been brought in. Let’s also note that new head coach Matt Nagy is an offensive minded guy. There is some excitement in Chicago right now.   

A Look At The Packers

There is also some excitement in Green Bay this year as they have their main guy back under center. Aaron Rodgers was lost early in the year in 2017 and the Packers sputtered to a 7-9 record. They hope to have him for a full year as he gives them their best chance to win. He did lose WR Jordy Nelson, but still has wideouts Davante Adams and Randall Cobb, who combined for 140 catches last year. The Packers also added TE Jimmy Graham. Green Bay was 26th in the league in total offense and 21st in scoring, but with Rodgers back, they should return to the top 10 in both categories.  

This will be a good test for the offense as they will be taking on a tough Bears defense that just added a huge piece in Khalil Mack. He is expected to play in this game. The green bay defense also struggled last year, but part of the reason was that their offense was not good. That offense put them in bad positions for much of the year, but it should be much better this year. Green Bay is back, but they cannot overlook this bears team at all as Chicago has improved on both sides of the ball and they may have one of the best defenses in the league.

Trends

Chicago is:

5-11 ATS in their last 16 road games

2-9 ATS in their last 11 games in September

The Under is 8-3 in their last 11 games on grass

The Under is 10-4 in their last 14 games in Week 1

Green Bay is:

2-6 ATS in their last 8 vs. the NFC

1-4 ATS in their last 5 home games

The Over is 17-5 in their last 22 vs. the NFC

The Over is 6-1 in their last 7 games in Week 1