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Despite losing to the Packers on Sunday, the Bears snuck their way into the playoffs at 8-8.
With the Wild Card round on the horizon, they prepare to head to New Orleans to take on the 12-4 Saints in the opening round of the NFL postseason. As one would expect by each team’s respective record, the Bears find themselves facing tall odds to emerge victorious.
The Bears are listed as ten-point underdogs against the Saints next Sunday at 3:40 p.m. CST. As the No. 7 seed in the NFC going on the road against a No. 2 seed, the odds are stacked against them to make any noise in the opening round of the playoffs.
Not all hope is lost for Chicago, however. The two teams squared off in Week 8 of the regular season, and while the Saints ended up winning 26-23 in overtime, the Bears held their own against a superior opponent and, at multiple points of the game, appeared likely to come away with the upset.
While a win against the Saints could be possible, it still seems highly unlikely, and bettors don’t appear to be all that enthusiastic about such a possibility.
Their Super Bowl odds aren’t incredibly favorable, either. They are currently averaging the second-lowest odds to win the Super Bowl in the league at +7333 heading into the playoffs, giving them approximately a 1.35 percent chance of winning their first championship since 1985. The only team they trail is the Washington Football Team, who snuck in as the No. 4 seed after winning the NFC East at 7-9.
At their peak, the Bears were given +2800 Super Bowl odds on Oct. 20, just two days after they improved to 5-1 with a win over the Panthers. Their low point came on Dec. 7, when they were given a +25000 line after falling to 5-7 with their 34-30 loss to the Lions. After a three-game winning streak and some luck falling their way with outside forces, though, Chicago found themselves clinching the playoffs when the Cardinals lost to the Rams on Sunday.
While the Bears find themselves as heavy underdogs to achieve any success in the playoffs, let alone win the Super Bowl, anything can happen in the NFL. With an expanded postseason, there exists an even greater possibility for the unpredictable to occur.