Bills vs. Bears Point Spread: NFL Pre-Season Week 3 Odds, Prediction
The Buffalo Bills and Chicago Bears will simply want to get through their preseason finale against one another Saturday as healthy as possible. The Bears are 1.5-point home favourites on the NFL odds.
NFL Point Spread and Betting Analysis
While the Bears look much improved on paper, they would not be close to favoured in a 2023 regular-season matchup with Buffalo, which is a legitimate Super Bowl contender again.
They did play in Chicago on Christmas Eve last regular season and the Bills rolled 35-13. Buffalo QB Josh Allen threw for two scores and rushed for another. The Bills gashed Chicago for 254 yards on the ground. Bears QB Justin Fields threw for 119 yards and a TD but only ran for 11 yards on seven carries as he wasn’t 100 per cent healthy.
Really, the Bears are trying to build much like the Bills did: With a stellar mobile quarterback and a defensive-minded head coach. It has worked well for Buffalo with Allen and Sean McDermott but remains to be seen in the Windy City with Fields and Matt Eberflus.
Buffalo Bills
Buffalo beat Indianapolis 23-19 at home in the preseason opener but then lost 27-15 at Pittsburgh this past Saturday. Josh Allen completed 7 of 10 passes and failed to lead Buffalo to any points during his three series vs. the Steelers. He didn’t play in the opener and most likely will not in this game. The only reason that coach Sean McDermott might play his starters briefly is because the entire team has looked disorganized with 21 total penalties.
“Unacceptable. Absolutely unacceptable,” McDermott stated after 13 penalties against the Steelers.
Backup QB Matt Barkley threw three picks vs. Pittsburgh, lost a fumble and hurt his elbow. That could give Kyle Allen the leg up for the No. 2 job behind Josh Allen. No. 1 tight end Dawson Knox missed Week 2 with a finger injury and is not expected for this game but will be ready for the regular season. The Bills are 13-7 all-time in the preseason under McDermott.
Chicago Bears
The Bears had a couple of very spirited practices with the Colts last week so coach Matt Eberflus opted to sit QB Justin Fields and many starters in a 24-17 road loss. It’s not clear if Fields will play here, but what’s interesting is what is happening behind him. Former XFL star PJ Walker, who spent last year with Carolina, was signed to be the presumed No. 2 but is being pushed by undrafted rookie Tyson Bagent. As a four-year starter at Division II Shepherd University in West Virginia, Bagent set the all-divisions record for passing touchdowns in a college career with 159. Bagent also won the 2021 Harlon Hill Trophy, which is the Division II equivalent of the Heisman Trophy. The Bears got a close look at Bagent at the Senior Bowl because Chicago offensive coordinator Luke Getsy coached the American team on which Bagent played. Veteran journeyman Nathan Peterman is also on the roster. Expect Bagent to see the most snaps Saturday. The Bears are 4-1 in the preseason under Eberflus.
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