Both the Chicago Bears and the Denver Broncos started the season flat with a loss each in Week 1. The good thing is that there’s still plenty of time to figure things out, though, back-to-back losses could have doubt set in on the losing side. The Bears are +170 to win the NFC North, while the Broncos are +2500 to win the AFC West.
The Bears’ defense remains as stingy as it was last season, but the offense definitely left much to be desired of following a 10-3 loss to the Green Bay Packers at home to kick off the NFL’s 100th season. Head coach Matt Nagy can’t help but be disappointed of his offense that couldn’t stitch together a successful drive that ended on a touchdown. Mitchell Trubisky went 26 for 45 for 228 passing yards and got intercepted, while the backfield produced just 46 total rushing yards on 15 carries. Granted that Green Bay’s defense improved, the Bears can’t just let their stop unit do all the work. Speaking of which, Chicago pushed Aaron Rodgers to the limit, as the Bears sacked him five times and held down to only 203 passing yards. Joe Flacco isn’t Aaron Rodgers and the Broncos’ offensive line looked more like a turnstile than a brick wall in Week 1, so expect Khalil Mack and company to have salt on their lips heading into Week 2.
The Bears are 4-1 against the spread (ATS) in their last five road games.
Betting on the Denver Broncos (0-1)
The Broncos broke in a new starting quarterback, but that barely made any difference in Week 1, as they lost to the Oakland Raiders on the road, 24-16. In his regular-season debut for the Broncos, Joe Flacco went 21 of 31 for 268 passing yards and a touchdown, while Denver’s offense, as a whole, remained dry in the red zone, scoring just once in the four times it reached the 20-yard mark. A bright spot for the Broncos is the emergence of Courtland Sutton, who had 120 receiving yards on seven receptions in the Raiders game. Flacco will have to spread out his passes a bit more though to keep Chicago’s defense on its toes. As for their own defense, the Broncos’ biggest weapon could be their new head coach Vic Fangio, who was a former defensive coordinator of Chicago. He is very familiar with the style of play and tendencies of Trubisky, so expect the Broncos to be all over the disgruntled quarterback this coming Sunday.
The under is 7-0 in the Broncos’ last seven home games.
