Bears vs. Packers Point Spread: NFL Week 18 Odds, Prediction
The Packers will try for yet another season sweep of Chicago and are 3-point favourites on the NFL odds.
NFL Point Spread and Betting Analysis
Will this be the final game as Bears quarterback for Justin Fields? The team has to make a decision on his rookie fifth-year option by May. Chicago is set to pick first in the 2024 NFL Draft thanks to the Carolina Panthers owing that pick from the trade before the 2023 draft that got the Panthers the No. 1 overall pick from Chicago. Do the Bears take USC star QB Caleb Williams there and trade Fields? That’s decision No. 1 for GM Ryan Poles this offseason. There’s also the matter of Coach Matt Eberflus. No question the team has been playing much, much better for weeks under him, but the offence still is a problem at times.
Green Bay might add a veteran in the offseason for insurance, but clearly Jordan Love will be the starting QB to open 2024 as well. He showed some good signs this season, his first as starter. Will Love be Brett Favre or Aaron Rodgers? No, but the Packers were spoiled with back-to-back Hall of Famers.
The Packers have dominated this series for years and look for another season sweep. They were 1-point underdogs in Week 1 at Soldier Field and rolled 38-20 as Love threw for 245 yards and three scores, two of those to Romeo Doubs. Fields threw for 216 yards with a TD and pick and led the club with 59 yards rushing.
At home, Green Bay has won 13 of the last 15 meetings against the Bears, including a 27-10 victory last season. The Packers have outscored Chicago, 433-225, in the last 15 home games, scoring at least 20 points in 13 of those. In each of the last three seasons and in 11 of the last 12 years, the Packers-Bears
Chicago Bears
On Halloween, the Bears traded a 2024 second-round pick to Washington for defensive end Montez Sweat, and the team has been completely different since then as Sweat almost single-handedly has turned that defence into a Top 5 unit over that stretch. The Bears already resigned him to a long-term extension. Sweat can become the first player all-time to lead two teams in sacks (Commanders/Bears) in a season. Chicago enters having won five of seven but is out of playoff contention. Justin Fields played one of his best games of the season Sunday in beating Atlanta 37-17 in completing 20 of 32 for 268 yards with a TD and rushing for 45 yards and a score. DJ Moore had nine catches for 159 yards and a TD and has had one of the best years for a Bears wideout ever. There’s a lot to build on here for 2024, especially with that top pick in the draft.
Green Bay Packers
Green Bay kept its wild card hopes alive at Minnesota on Sunday with an easy win and would earn a playoff spot with a victory vs. Chicago. It also could with a loss or tie but then it involves plenty of help. The Packers are in a three-way tie with Seattle and New Orleans for the NFC’s final WC spot currently but win the tiebreaker in both. Pro Bowl cornerback Jaire Alexander was suspended for Sunday’s game but will be back. QB Jordan Love looked excellent in throwing for 256 yards and three scores, and Aaron Jones had his second straight 100-yard rushing game. The Packers entered Week 17 as one of only two teams that didn’t have a player with a 100-yard receiving game this season, but Bo Melton had six grabs for 101 yards and a TD. He was only elevated from the practice squad Saturday because fellow WRs Christian Watson and Dontayvion Wicks were out injured. Last season, the Packers also had a home Week 18 game where they needed a win for a playoff spot, but they lost to Detroit in what would be Aaron Rodgers’ final game with Green Bay.