Bears vs. Chiefs Point Spread: NFL Pre-Season Week 3 Odds, Prediction
If you needed any proof good teams go easy in the pre-season and bad teams go hard, just look at Kansas City and Chicago’s records’. The two-time defending Super Bowl champion Chiefs are 0-2 in the pre-season, with losses to Jacksonville and Detroit. On the other hand, the Bears, who have missed the playoffs for three straight seasons, are 3-0 in exhibition action, including blowout wins against Buffalo and Cincinnati in the last two weeks.
Chicago opened as a slim 1-point favourite to win on the NFL pre-season odds, with the total set at 32.5.
NFL Point Spread and Betting Analysis
As mentioned, these teams trended in opposite directions last season. Kansas City topped the AFC West with an 11-6 record en route to winning their third Super Bowl in five years. The Bears went 7-10 to finish last in the NFC North for a second consecutive season and they haven’t won a playoff game since 2010.
In two seasons as head coach of Chicago, Matt Eberflus has a terrible regular season record, but he’s managed to go 7-2 both straight up and against the spread in the pre-season. Conversely, KC’s Andy Reid is 46-49 SU and 46-45-4 ATS in his exhibition career.
The Chiefs are the obvious Super Bowl favourites at +500 on the NFL futures board, but keep in mind that no team has ever hoisted the Lombardi Trophy three years in a row. The Bears are +4000 to win the Super Bowl, but the more enticing future is for Chicago to make the playoffs at -110.
Chicago Bears
The Bears have been a juggernaut in the pre-season, beating Houston 21-17 in the Hall of Fame Game before dominating Buffalo 33-6 on the road and dispatching Cincinnati 27-3 at home last week. Quarterback Caleb Williams, the No. 1 overall pick in this year’s draft, has looked great over the last two games, but he won’t suit up in the pre-season finale. Tyson Bagent and Brett Rypien will play as they compete for the backup QB position. Bagent threw for 87 yards and two TDs last week, while Rypien completed three of four pass attempts for 53 yards.
Strong defence has been key for Chicago throughout the pre-season. The Bears hired new defensive coordinator Eric Washington in the off-season and he’s already made huge improvement to a unit that finished 25th in pass defence last season. The rush defence won’t need any tinkering as Chicago led the league in 2023.
Kansas City Chiefs
Everyone knows who Kansas City is as a team. They’re led on offence by the likes of Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce and Isiah Pacheco, while Chris Jones anchors the defence and Andy Reid calls the plays. There’s no QB competition as Carson Wentz is solidified as the backup behind Mahomes and Chris Oladokun is third on the depth chart. All three pivots played last week, but bank on Wentz and Oladokun splitting snaps against Chicago. Wentz completed just five of 10 pass attempts for 31 yards and a touchdown last week, while Oladokun went 6-of-7 for 99 yards and a TD.
The Chiefs proved to be a cautionary tale about playing starters in Week 1 of the pre-season as off-season signing Marquise Brown suffered a shoulder injury and will miss the start of the regular season. Top running backs Isiah Pacheco and Cylde Edwards-Helaire are also expected to sit out on Thursday.