While we’re still a few months out from the opening week of the 2020 NFL season, but it’s never too late to start thinking ahead to the start of what’s hopefully a season of redemption for the Chicago Bears.
The Bears will kick their season off against division rivals the Detroit Lions, who are coming off a disappointing 3-12-1 record, which was due in large part to the absence of quarterback Matthew Stafford for a good chunk of the season.
According to Oddschecker, the Bears’ opener against the Lions is one of the smallest margins of the week with the Lions giving 1.5 to the Bears. Bettors have been wagering both sides of the line almost equally. As of Monday morning, 52% of wagers picked Chicago to beat Detroit on Sept. 13. The line figures to change between now and Week 1, but it’s a surprise that bettors are so divided considering recent history.
The Bears haven’t won a season opener in six years, which surely isn’t encouraging opening the season in Detroit. But when looking at recent history, the Bears have swept the Lions over the last two seasons, going 4-0 since Matt Nagy’s arrival in the Windy City.
In recent history, those games the Bears plays in Detroit have been much closer than those in Chicago, even over the last two years. Which is certainly a reason why bettors are on the fence.
“Perhaps the reason that this particular game is so finely balanced is to do with the unmade decisions that both teams face; will it be Nick Foles or Mitch Trubisky pulling the strings for the Bears?” Oddschecker spokesperson Pete Watt said. “Is this TJ Hockenson’s time to shine for Detroit?”
“Only time will tell, but we can expect plenty more activity on this market as both team’s training camps progress.”
While Chicago’s quarterback battle figures to be a toss-up ahead of its start in training camp, the Bears figure to be in good hands if Trubisky is under center against Detroit. Trubisky has been inconsistent as a whole in his career, but he’s always played well against the Lions.
In three of those last four wins against Detroit — Trubisky missed the second matchup in 2018 with a shoulder injury — Trubisky completed 68 of 91 passes for 866 yards (74.2%), nine touchdowns and one interception for a quarterback rating of 132.6. Trubisky posted a QB rating above 100 in all three of those games.
But obviously the quarterback battle won’t be decided by Trubisky’s success against the Lions. (If only Chicago could play Detroit every week.) We’ll see how the quarterback battle transpires once training camp begins and through preseason, which figures to be instrumental in Nagy choosing his starter.
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