The Chicago Bears seemed meant to be an offseason darling.
The Bears were pretty good at the end of last season, but then had a splashy offseason. They built their reception area. They drafted quarterback Caleb Williams with the first overall pick. There is a lot of excitement in Chicago for this Bears season.
That excitement doesn’t extend to the gambling world.
BetMGM offers odds for every NFL team to make or miss the playoffs. And most bets in that market are on the Bears missing the playoffs.
So much for the offseason buzz.
Bettors think Bears will fall short
Whether you measure it by the number of bets or the amount of money, the biggest betting playoff prop at BetMGM is that the Bears will miss the postseason. The odds of the Bears missing the playoffs are +105 (bet $100 to win $105).
There is also a consensus right behind the Bears. The Jets, with odds of +120 to miss the playoffs, are the second-most popular bet in the postseason betting market.
The skepticism toward the Bears is not unfounded. It’s always hard to count on a starting quarterback. There are a lot of new pieces the Bears can incorporate. And the Bears play in the NFC North, which could end up being the toughest division in the NFL.
There’s a lot working against the Bears, which is why bettors are on guard.
Can Bears make the postseason?
The excitement for the Bears, at least among Chicago fans, started in the second half of last season. The Bears started 2-7. That turned around with a 5-3 finish, and the three losses came against the Lions, Browns and Packers. If the Bears had won a Week 18 game at the Packers to keep them out of the playoffs, as the Lions did a year earlier, there would have been a more notable buzz about their offseason. Losing the final dampened that a bit.
But there are still reasons to like the Bears this season. Williams is a fantastic prospect. Between DJ Moore, Keenan Allen and Rome Odunze, Chicago has a very good reception area. The defense may still need some work, but it got better as the season went on.
There is a lot to like about this Bears team, even though they could be good and still not make the playoffs due to a tough division. That’s part of why bettors think they’ll miss the postseason.
The Bears seem like a team that was more likely to go the other way and become a favorite of bettors. They had a lot of big moves and are a popular franchise with a huge fan base. There has been excitement about them since the end of last season. Usually this all leads to some positive bets. But gamblers aren’t ready to buy in yet.
