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In the midst of their two-game losing streak, the Bears have experienced a loss of identity.
Sitting at 3-3 after their 36-25 loss to the Saints on Sunday, the sense of stability surrounding the Bears has diminished greatly in recent weeks. Their offense has sunk to new lows, failing to top 300 total yards in any game so far this year. Add that to an uncharacteristically poor performance from their defense, and the hype surrounding the team has significantly dwindled since the beginning of the year.
This cold streak has seen the country lose trust in the Bears as a potential playoff contender, and that mistrust has been reflected through the opinions of bettors and bookies.
Sports Betting Dime has soured significantly on Chicago as potential winners of the NFC North. The team’s rise in odds has come as a combination of bettors losing confidence in them, as well as the bookies’ own opinions of the team.
“The Bears’ odds to win the NFC North have plummeted to +800 after losing to the Saints in Week 7. That’s a massive decline from being +170 divisional favorites prior to Week 1. Not only are the Bears 2.5 games back of the Packers, but there is no sign of a quarterback fix on the horizon as Mitch Trubisky continues to regress in his third season.” -per Sascha Paruk, Sports Betting Dime
Chicago sits with the third-highest odds in the division, following the Packers (-180) and the Vikings (+240). They sit ahead of only the Lions (+1600), who have also seen their odds rise dramatically over the past two weeks.
Below is a visual representation of each team’s odds since March:
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Chicago’s odds to win the Super Bowl have also gotten significantly worse since the beginning of the year. Starting the season with odds at +1400 right before the regular season began, their odds have since risen to +4000, That number gives them the 10th-best odds in the NFC to win the Super Bowl, as opposed to the fourth-best odds on Sep. 4.
The Bears find themselves at a crossroads with a .500 record heading into Week 8 of the season. If they want to get their season back on track—and get Vegas on their side in the process—then drastic improvements must be made.