Both the Chicago Bears and Los Angeles Rams are entering the 2021–22 NFL season with exciting new quarterbacks, albeit only one is starting in the season’s first edition of Sunday Night Football. Apologies to Andy Dalton, but the starter worth getting excited about is Matthew Stafford in Los Angeles, as the former first-overall pick might be just what Sean McVay’s offence has been missing in order to become a contender again.

Kickoff at SoFi Stadium is set for 8:20 EST.

NFL Point Spread and Betting Analysis

Sunday night’s bout features one of the largest and most lopsided spreads of the week, as the Rams are sitting as 7.5-point favourites to win on the NFL odds, while receiving 79 per cent of bets on Sports Interaction. Both teams made the playoffs a year ago, but it’s safe to say Los Angeles improved thanks to the addition of Stafford, while Chicago made at best a horizontal move in signing Dalton.

The Bears have dropped eight of their last 11 games overall and 13 of their last 18 while visiting the Rams too. For Los Angeles, their league-leading defence a season ago put them on a serious under trend, going 11 for 15 to close out their year including having eight consecutive home games going under the total. For Sunday, that number is set at 46.

Chicago Bears

When the Bears signed Dalton to a one-year, $10-million contract, head coach Matt Nagy was adamant Dalton would start for Chicago. Many thought Nagy would go back on his word when Chicago traded up in the draft to get Ohio State pivot Justin Fields but it’s still Dalton getting the start in L.A.

Dalton’s entering his 11th NFL season and has over 33,000 career passing yards but clearly has his best days behind him. He finished his last season in Cincinnati going 2-11 before winning four of nine starts with Dallas in 2020.

Chicago’s offence will prominently feature running back David Montgomery and receiver Allen Robinson. Montgomery finished fifth in the NFL last season with 1,070 rushing yards and Robinson was ninth with 1,250 receiving yards.

Los Angeles Rams

As Jared Goff passed for 174 yards in Los Angeles’ NFL Divisional Round loss a year ago and the Stafford trade rumours heated up, a fit with the Rams seemed inevitable. Now McVay, one of the league’s best offensive minds having one of the league’s most underappreciated QBs in Stafford. Rams receivers Cooper Kupp and Robert Woods are also big winners of the Stafford trade. Kupp had 92 grabs for 974 yards in 2020–21 and Woods 90 for 936 — both could hit 1,000 this season.

And while defensive coordinator Brandon Staley has moved on to a head coaching gig, defensive tackle Aaron Donald and defensive back Jalen Ramsey are back as mainstays on L.A.’s defence.

NFL Prediction: Who Will Win Bears vs. Rams?