This week’s featured match at OddsTrader is the NFC North Divisional Clash with the Chicago Bears visiting the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field.
NFL Week 1 saw the Green Bay Packers lose to the Minnesota Vikings in a rather sloppy team display while the Chicago Bears won vs. the San Francisco 49ers on a saturated playing field.
Those two NFL Week 1 results set this week’s clash up nicely and the look-ahead spread of 10 at the NFL odds favoring the Green Bay Packers has shortened to 8 in places while the total has understandably shortened too, from over the key number of 45 on the look-ahead totals, to 43.
Chicago Bears vs. Green Bay Packers
Sunday, September 18, 2022 – 08:20 PM at Lambeau Field
Did the Chicago Bears Find Their Bite?
Hideous outfield conditions in Chicago saw the Bears find some bite by the end of their 19-10 victory over the 49ers after a slow start that saw Chicago pointless and trailing 0-7 after the first half.
The third quarter saw the Bears change momentum and start to roar with a 51-yard Justin Fields pass, finding wide receiver and former 49er, Dante Pettis for a touchdown when trailing 0-10.
The touchdown brought the Chicago Bears fans to life on such a wet sodden miserable day, and they never let go of the momentum for the rest of the afternoon with touchdowns from Khalil Herbert and Equanimeous St. Brown.
Will We See a Packers Reaction in Green Bay?
Sunday was a very lackluster beginning to the Super Bowl LVII campaign for the Green Bay Packers who were dispatched by the Minnesota Vikings with minimum fuss.
Star quarterback, Aaron Rodgers said, “We hurt ourselves many times, myself included”. A Week 1 debacle is nothing new in Green Bay, after all, they started last season with an even worse display, losing 3-38 to the New Orleans Saints. We know there’s no need to panic in Green Bay, but their defense was non-existent to the pass allowing Justin Jefferson nearly 200-yards receiving.
That accounts for the line of scrimmage also seemingly invisible, never being able to create any pressure on opposing quarterback, Kirk Cousins. To bring context, the Packers’ own Pro Bowl running back, Aaron Jones only managed 8 touches and 5 carries.
Last Time the Bears Won at Lambeau Field…
To put into context, the task that awaits the Chicago Bears on Sunday, we have to go back to 2015 for the last occasion they won a divisional match at Lambeau Field with their rivals, the Green Bay Packers.
It’s also worth taking into consideration the Bears’ overall poor record vs. the Packers in recent years. Making a strong argument for the Chicago Bears winning at Lambeau Field it’s difficult.
Final Thoughts
It’s Now or Never for the Bears
There can be no better time all season for the Bears to catch the Packers unawares than this week, given last week’s results. Factor in, how the Packers’ Super Bowl LVI campaign went out like a damp squib at the start of the year when losing to the San Francisco 49ers at Lambeau Field in the playoffs. Therefore, we can surmise that confidence is unusually subdued in Green Bay ahead of this week.
Alternatively, the Chicago Bears’ confidence received a much-needed boost on Sunday with that strong rallying second-half performance, funnily enough, against the San Francisco 49ers.
Having Doubts About Justin Fields?
There have been question marks surrounding their quarterback Justin Fields but I have to confess, I don’t have those same worries. After all, Fields is still very raw in his NFL experience starting his second season and it’s been something of a thankless task so far for the 23-year-old.
Let’s be honest, Fields appears to have even fewer options than last year with highly rated wide receiver, Allen Robinson leaving during the off-season.
Bears vs. Packers: Betting Odds and Picks
The look-ahead line was set at +10 for the Bears and had shortened up in a couple of places by 2 points while other top sportsbooks have only clipped the line half a point but happily, most sportsbooks have sprung back to 10 in many places.
We know 7 and 10 are those key numbers but it’s still important to shop around OddsTrader’s best sportsbooks for the best number and Unibet has -109 about the +10 Chicago Bears.
The second half of our NFL picks belong to going under the total points that despite being set low enough could be out of reach with a subdued Green Bay Packers the home field team.
NFL Pick: Chicago Bears +10 (-109) at Unibet
NFL Pick: Under 43 (-107) at PointsBet
