Chicago Bears Betting Guide 2020

Chicago, Illinois is the home of the Chicago Bears of the National Football League. Chicago’s home games are played at Soldier Field in the heart of the city.

Founded in 1920 in Decatur, Illinois before being moved to Chicago in 1921, the Bears have the distinction of being only one of two remaining franchises leftover from the league’s founding all the way back in 1920. The other team is the Arizona Cardinals, which were originally based in Chicago.

The Bears have won nine league championships including one Super Bowl, which they prevailed in back in 1985.

Chicago also has four conference championships and 21 division titles in its record book. The Bears have made 26 playoff appearances all-time, including most recently in 2018.

If you are interested in betting on the NFL or on Chicago specifically, it’s time you started paying closer attention to the league and its teams. Here is something to help you get started when it comes to betting on the Bears.

Best Chicago Bears betting sites

Now that sports betting in the state of Indiana is legal, residents who are 21 years or older are able to bet on the NFL (and all sports).

There are a number of places where you can place your bets, including:

• DraftKings Sportsbook
• FanDuel Sportsbook

Chicago Bears Division: NFC North

The Bears are based in the NFC North division along with:

• Green Bay Packers
• Minnesota Vikings
• Detroit Lions

In addition to its division titles won in the era of the NFL Western and NFC Central divisions, Chicago has won four NFC North division titles including most recently in 2018.

Last 5 NFC North Division winners:

• 2018: Chicago Bears (12-4)
• 2017: Minnesota Vikings (13-3)
• 2016: Green Bay Packers (10-6)
• 2015: Minnesota Vikings (11-5)
• 2014: Green Bay Packers (12-4)

2019 NFL key games for the Bears

Week 1 vs Green Bay Packers

The Bears kicked off their 2019 campaign by hosting the Green Bay Packers on the opening Thursday of the season. Neither team was able to gets its offense in second gear, but it was Green Bay to come away with the 10-3 victory. Chicago’s defense was in midseason form, sacking Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers five times.

Week 7 vs New Orleans Saints

The Bears came off a bye week to absorb their second straight defeat, a 36-25 loss to the New Orleans Saints. Teddy Bridgewater continued filling in admirably for Drew Brees, passing for 281 yards with a pair of touchdowns. While Mitch Trubisky connected on two touchdown passes, Tarik Cohen led the team in rushing with 10 yards on the ground…ouch.

Week 9 at Philadelphia Eagles

The Bears had one of the season’s toughest road games with a visit to the Philadelphia Eagles. On the heels of a heartbreaking 17-16 home loss to the Los Angeles Chargers, the Eagles badly needed to get back back into the winning column.

It wouldn’t happen in Week 9, as Carson Wentz and the Eagles handed Chicago their fourth consecutive defeat. David Montgomery‘s pair of rushing touchdowns served as a lone bright spot in the Bears’ 22-14 loss.

Week 13 at Detroit Lions

The Bears had plenty to be thankful for in Week 13’s 24-20 victory over the Detroit Lions. Mitch Trubisky lit up the Lions for three passing touchdowns, and Anthony Miller tallied 140 receiving yards in this Thanksgiving Day showdown. The win was Chicago’s third in their last four games.

Week 16 vs Kansas City Chiefs

The Bears have a very difficult schedule this season, including a Week 16 matchup with the Kansas City Chiefs. This will be a showdown between one of the NFL’s best offenses versus one of the best defenses.

2019 Chicago Bears NFL schedule

A look back the last 5 seasons for the Bears

2018: 12-4; Lost to Philadelphia Eagles in Wild Card Playoffs

Chicago’s first season under new head coach Matt Nagy was its most successful dating all the way back to 2006. The Bears produced their first winning record since 2010 by going 12-4. It also marked their first time reaching 12 wins since 2006, when they went 13-3 in the regular season and then lost to the Indianapolis Colts 29-17 in Super Bowl XLI. Chicago would lose to the Philadelphia Eagles 16-15 in the NFC Wild Card round.

2017: 5-11

The third and final season under head coach John Fox was an absolute disaster for the Bears. While they managed to improve on their season win total by two wins, they still settled for a 5-11 record and missing the playoffs following their fourth consecutive losing season. The lone bright spot is the fact that another losing season finally led to a coaching change and Chicago bringing in Nagy to replace Fox.

2016: 3-13

The Bears managed just one winning season from their playoff appearance in 2010 through the 2017 season. The 2016 season represented a low point for Chicago. They went just 3-13, their lowest win total since moving to a full 16-game schedule. The Bears went 0-8 on the road for the first time in franchise history.

2015: 6-10

Football fans in Chicago were hoping for a major turnaround after the franchise fired Marc Trestman as head coach and relieved general manager Phil Emery of his duties. However, the John Fox era began with a dud as the Bears went 6-10 in the 2015 season. It also marked the first year since 1973 in which Chicago didn’t win a home game against a division opponent.

2014: 5-11

After producing a .500 record or better in four consecutive seasons, the Bears hit a wall in 2014 when they went 5-11. Chicago had high hopes after going 8-8 the previous year. However, the Bears were absolutely hammered by a number of teams that season including consecutive losses to the Packers and New England Patriots in which they allowed 50 points or more in each of them. It was their first losing season since 2009 and the first season with 10 losses or more dating back to 2004.

Understanding betting odds for the Chicago Bears

When you first take a look at the NFL betting lines, you’ll see a lot of numbers on the board that might confuse you. What you’ll see are the matchups (schedule of games) along with odds next to each game. If you’re new to it, here is a look at how to read the odds, so that you can understand what you’re seeing:

Point Spread

The margin of victory established by the sportsbooks to offset any potential handicap is referred to as the point spread. Any time you bet a point spread, you are basically picking the team you think will cover that designated margin of victory. Here is an example of what a point spread involving the Bears might look like:

• Green Bay Packers +2.5
• Chicago Bears -2.5

This example has Chicago listed as a 2.5-point favorite at home. We know this because of the “-“ sign next to Chicago, which indicates that the Bears are the betting favorites. Therefore, the Bears would need to win this matchup by three points or more in order to cover the point spread.

Meanwhile, the Packers are listed as underdogs on the road, which is indicated by the “+” sign that precedes the handicap number. In this scenario, Green Bay would need to win by three points or more in order to cover the point spread.

Moneyline

The moneyline is another type of bet that you might see. Unlike the point spread, the money line is simply focused on picking the outright winner of a specific matchup. This is an example of what the moneyline odds might look like:

• Green Bay Packers +225
• Chicago Bears -250

While the point spread forces you to worry about the teams winning or losing by specific margins, the moneyline wager is much simpler. All you need to worry about is picking which team will win the game outright. Beyond that, the betting odds are listed next to the teams.

As is the case with the point spread, the “-“ sign indicates the betting favorite and the “+” sign indicates the underdog. Therefore, in this scenario, you could risk $100 to win $225 betting on Green Bay. At the same time, if you want to bet on Chicago then you could risk $250 to win $100 betting on them to win at home.

Total

The third option we will explore here is the total, which you could bet on with any NFL matchup. This option allows you to predict how many points will be scored in the game without picking a winner or a loser. If you think it will be a high scoring game, you can bet the OVER. If you think it will be a low scoring game, you can bet the UNDER. This is what a total might look like:

Green Bay Packers @ Chicago Bears
Total: 48.5

With the total for this example set at 48.5 points, all you need to do is predict whether the Packers and Bears will come to score more or less than 48 points. If the teams combine to score 49 points or more, then the OVER will be considered the winning bet. If the teams combine to score 48 points or fewer, then the UNDER will be considered the winning bet.

3 Things To Know When Betting The Chicago Bears

1. They play at Soldier Field

The Bears play at Soldier Field, which is an outdoor stadium in Chicago. This stadium not only has to deal with the wintery elements once the season turns frosty, but it’s also known for having a rough, grass surface. In the summer months, the grass isn’t too much of a factor but once rain and cold come into play, the surface can feel like mud. That tends to hamper teams with speed and benefit those who are physical.

2. Usually built around defense

Following up on the first point, the Bears tend to build their teams to cater to the stadium. That means they’re often built around running the ball, winning on the lines of scrimmage and playing defense. While it’s not a hard-and-fast rule, the best Bears teams tend to have success on the strength of their defense.

3. The Bears don’t always travel well

The Bears are an East Coast team that’s used to playing outdoors. Typically, they’re not the best when it comes to traveling. If they’re going to the West Coast – somewhere like San Francisco or Los Angeles – then it’s obviously a long trip for them.

If they’re facing a team that plays indoors, it’s not necessarily a big benefit for them. The Bears are usually built around running the ball and playing defense, so playing in a dome or a warm climate, which often benefits passing games, is not a huge edge for them.