Panthers vs. Bears Point Spread: NFL Week 5 Odds, Prediction
This marks the first meeting between these two teams since the Bears used the draft pick they acquired in a March 2023 deal with Carolina to select quarterback Caleb Williams first overall in this year’s NFL Draft. While Williams looked increasingly comfortable in his role as an NFL starter while leading the Bears to last week’s 24-18 win over the Los Angeles Rams, things have not worked out so well for Bryce Young, whom the Panthers selected first overall in 2023 with the draft pick they paid handsomely for in that deal with Chicago. The beleaguered pivot was replaced after a pair of brutal starts to start the season by veteran Andy Dalton, who has provided a much-needed offensive spark during the team’s current 1-1 run.
The Panthers arrive in the Windy City lagging as 4-point underdogs on the NFL odds, and are pegged as a +165 bet on the NFL moneyline, while the total is listed at 41.
NFL Point Spread and Betting Analysis
This marks the second time in as many seasons that these two teams have clashed at Soldier Field. The Bears escaped with a narrow 16-13 victory when Young and the Panthers visited town last November to improve to 6-1 in their past seven head-to-head clashes while extending their current head-to-head win streak to three games. Not surprisingly, the Bears’ current 3-0 run has featured low-scoring contests, with Carolina averaging just 10.6 points per game during a 3-0 run for the UNDER.
Carolina Panthers
After scoring just 13 total points during a brutal 0-2 start with Young under centre, the Panthers elected to bench their young star in favour of Andy Dalton, and the results have been somewhat positive. The veteran passer connected on three scoring tosses while piling up 319 yards in an impressive 36-22 win in Las Vegas. And while they fell short in last week’s 34-24 loss to Cincinnati, the team’s 60 total points scored with Dalton at the helm is more than the total points in the previous seven games with Young running the offence. The move to Dalton has also provided a lift to running Chuba Hubbard. The Edmonton native has topped 100 rushing yards in each of the past two games while recording a scoring catch and a TD run. Hubbard has emerged as a solid -115 bet on the NFL player props to top 60.5 rushing yards on Sunday despite running for just 23 yards in last year’s visit to Chicago.
Chicago Bears
It also proved to be a tough start to the season for prized rookie Caleb Williams. The former USC Trojans star looked lost at times while struggling to find targets in his first two outings. However, Williams has slowly rounded into form, tossing three scoring passes over his past two games and connected on 73.9% of pass attempts in last weekend’s win over LA. Williams has also started to develop chemistry with receiver DJ Moore, whom the Bears also acquired in the now infamous deal with Carolina. Williams admitted he and Moore were “not on the same page” to start the season. However, the duo connected for 78 yards in a narrow 21-16 loss to Indianapolis two weeks and Williams found Moore in the endzone for the first time last weekend. With Moore eager to make a statement against his former teammates, he offers value as a -115 NFL player props bet to top 52.5 receiving yards.
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