Bears vs. Saints Point Spread: NFL Wild Card Odds, Prediction
If the NFC’s second-seeded Saints are upset at home by the No. 7 Chicago Bears, then it almost surely will be it for Brees. The Saints are 10.5-point favourites on the NFL odds, however.
NFL Wild Card Point Spread and Betting Analysis
There have been multiple reports that Brees will call it a career after this season. He nearly did so after the 2019 campaign and already has a TV job lined up with NBC.
Meanwhile, Sunday could also be the last game as a Bears quarterback for Mitchell Trubisky as the team declined his fifth-year rookie option back in early May. There’s a chance the sides work out a deal – especially if Trubisky plays well here and leads a big upset. Should the Bears pull the stunner, they would visit top-seeded Green Bay in the Divisional Round.
New Orleans visited Chicago in Week 8 when Nick Foles was the Bears’ starting quarterback and the Saints won 26-23 in overtime. That Chicago even got it to OT was a minor miracle as the Bears were down 23-13 with about three minutes to go in regulation. Brees threw for 280 yards and two scores. David Montgomery rushed for 89 yards to lead Chicago.
The Saints are 5-1-1 against the spread in the past seven meetings.
New Orleans is a +275 second-favourite to win the conference title and +750 to take Super Bowl 55. Chicago is +4000 and +8000, respectively.
Chicago Bears
Without the addition of a third Wild-Card team this season, the Bears (8-8) wouldn’t be a playoff team. In the AFC, the 10-6 Miami Dolphins didn’t get in. Chicago’s three-game winning streak, which came against very weak competition, came to a screeching halt Sunday in 35-16 home loss to the Packers – but Arizona being upset by the Los Angeles Rams allowed the Bears to get the No. 7 seed.
Trubisky also came way back to earth against the Packers in not finding the end zone and throwing a pick. Montgomery rushed for 69 yards and a TD and had nine catches for 63 yards. Rookie wideout Darnell Mooney had 11 catches for 93 yards. He’s in question for this game with an ankle injury as is top linebacker Roquan Smith with an elbow issue. Smith has had a breakout season and is among the league tackle leaders. The Bears are 0-6 ATS in their past six road games vs. teams with a winning home record.
New Orleans Saints
The Saints had an outside shot Sunday of getting the NFC’s top seed but needed a win and some help and didn’t get the help. New Orleans did rout Carolina 33-7 as the defence had five interceptions. Brees threw for 201 yards and three touchdowns in his final regular-season game. He’s still the only quarterback to reach 80,000 career passing yards and holds numerous regular-season NFL records.
New Orleans was without its top two running backs Sunday, Pro Bowler Alvin Kamara and Latavius Murray, due to COVID protocols as well as All-Pro wideout Michael Thomas, who missed the final three games on injured reserve. All three should play here; if the game had been scheduled for Saturday, then Kamara, who led the league with 21 total touchdowns, would not have been cleared in time. Sunday will be the first day that Kamara he will be eligible to return from the reserve/COVID-19 as long as he tests negative all week. Kamara will not be able to practice or go to the team facility at all. The Saints are 0-5 ATS in their past five playoff games as favourites.
CHI
NO