Betting the Bears: A look at the preseason odds

Training camp started this week and we’ve all been following every practice and clip of Justin Fields and DJ Moore.

The Chicago Bears are working towards the start of the 2023 season.

Just like most other teams around the league, optimism peaks in July and August when everyone is 0-0, players are in the best shape of their lives, and coaches are saying all the right things.

That seems like a good time to re-visit the betting odds and try and spot some value plays that might be worth it if you’re into that sort of thing.

All of these odds come from DraftKings but always shop around for the best odds.

Let’s start with Chicago’s future odds.

Super Bowl: +5000

NFC Champions: +3000

Division: +400

Make the playoffs: Yes +155/No -180

Win total: Over 7.5 -130/Under 7.5 +110

Most improved regular season team: +210 (favorites)

Full disclosure, I took a future on the Bears to win the Super Bowl at +8000. It’s a long shot, yes, but we’ve seen some teams take big leaps the last couple of years (Cincinnati Bengals and Philadephia Eagles) and end up in the Super Bowl. If you want an even better value, the better play might be on NFC Champs and/or to make playoffs. Don’t make it a huge play, but a half unit if you want to buy into the fun.

The win total is interesting, DraftKings gives loads of options instead of one set number, but it’s crept up.

Props

Justin Fields rushing yards O/U 825.5 (-110)

Justin Fields rushing TDs O/U 6.5 (-110)

Player to have 1,500 receiving yards: DJ Moore +2500

DJ Moore receiving yards O/U 800.5 (Over -125/Under +105)

DJ Moore receiving TDs O/U 4.5 (-110)

DJ Moore receptions O/U 62.5 (-110)

If you’re looking for value, I don’t know that there is a lot here. Betting the under on Fields’ rush yards seems a bit easy, TDs you could make an argument for either way. Moore, it seems like the overs are too easy. Maybe find some alternate numbers to try to catch some plus money.

Season awards

Justin Fields MVP (or Offensive Player of the Year) +2000

DJ Moore Offensive Player of the Year +10000

Matt Eberflus Coach of the Year +1100

Eberflus having the third-best odds behind Sean Payton and favorite Dan Campbell, is interesting. It says that there is an expectation for the Bears to take a step forward. Fields as an MVP or OPOY long shot seems like pretty good value, but to me, all these long-shot bets are much more of a “spread a little around a few bets” and then hope you hit one every few years and you can end up ahead.

Are you taking any of these odds? Which bets do you like most?