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Chicago Bears in the Spotlight: Navigating NFL Player Props with Legal Sportsbooks

Avatar The Chicago Journal Staff on October 10, 2023

With another NFL season kicking off, fans across the nation are excited for another year of exciting football action. Alongside the fans, the bettors are also ready to wager on different teams and matches. The most popular betting markets are moneyline and spreads but over the years, prop betting has also seen a rise in popularity. 

This is even more true for Bears fans. If you’re a fan yourself and you’re new to prop betting, you’ll need more than just today’s NFL player props odds – you’ll need some handy tips and tricks to make your experience more enjoyable. 

Luckily for you, this guide will give you just that. 

The Allure of Player Prop Bets

For the uninitiated, player props are a unique type of betting market that’s focused more on the individual players and their plays. For example, which player is going to find the end zone first, how may receiving yards a certain player will have, how many interceptions each quarterback will throw, etc. 

It should already be clear that these wagers emphasize an individual player’s performance and betting on these markets requires more than your average knowledge of the game. To be successful in these markets, you need to know everything about the players.

These days bettors can place prop bets through licensed online bookmakers. They get to enjoy the hype and excitement of prop bets, complete with the security and safety of a sports betting site. 

Chicago Bears: Players to Watch this Season

This season, the Bears have really leveled up their roster and here are some of the players that you should definitely watch out for this season.  

Justin Fields

The Bears’ star quarterback, Justin Fields, has been delivering exceptional performances lately. He notched four touchdowns against the Broncos and Commanders in back-to-back weeks, and has exceeded 250 passing yards twice this season.

DJ Moore

Another player that deserves a mention is DJ Moore. The Bears’ wide receiver has received 27 passes up until this season, including a spectacular 230-yard, three-touchdown performance against Washington. The longest pass that he’s received at the time of writing is 57 yards. 

Benefits of Odds Shopping for the Chicago Bears Player Props

The odds and lines at sportsbooks can vary. You might find one book that has Fields Over 225 yards, and another where you would only have to beat Over 220 yards. That’s why if you care about the payout, you need to start odds-shopping for Chicago Bears player props. 

For beginners, odds shopping might be a bit confusing. So, let’s clear that up. It’s essentially taking a look at different bookmakers to find the best odds on a given market. As we mentioned, there’s a good chance you won’t find great odds for the props markets. That’s why you should definitely compare it with other betting sites. 

Aside from this, here are some of the other benefits that you can enjoy if you’re going odds shopping. 

Better Decision-Making with Real-Time Odds Comparison

By taking a look at different bookmaker odds you get to compare in real-time and find the best option for you because in betting you always want to wager on the most profitable option. That’s why odds shopping is so great at helping you make better decisions. 

And if you find a different odds format, there’s no cause for concern. You can simply use an online odds converter tool to make it easier to understand the odds. 

Opportunities for Arbitrage

You can also reap more rewards by betting on the same market with different bookmakers because thanks to odds shopping, you’ll already have a list of the bookmakers that are giving you good odds for a specific market. You can find spots where the prices differ enough between books that you can bet both sides of a game or prop and guarantee a profit.

Justin Fields Isn’t Ready To Accept That The Chicago Bears Are Struggling With Their Passing Game

Avatar The Chicago Journal Staff on October 6, 2022

Chicago Bears quarterback Justin Fields does not agree with suggestions that his team’s passing game isn’t getting the job done for the team and disagreed with a reporter who questioned him over it following Sunday’s loss to the New York Giants. 

Fields completed 11 of 22 passes for 174 yards against the Giants on Sunday en route to a 20-12 loss, marking the first game of the year in which he didn’t throw an interception. However, it also marked the third consecutive contest in which he failed to throw a single touchdown pass. 

The Bears are now 2-2 on the back of the loss, with the Giants improving their start to 3-1, and are last in the NFL when it comes to passing yards, averaging just 97.5 per game. Fields has 471 passing yards, which puts him 31st in the league, while his 50.7 completion rate puts him at No.32. 

Meanwhile, the Bears have been running the ball very well, posting 177.3 yards per game, good for third in the league. 

Despite not throwing a touchdown pass on Sunday, Fields made several good plays, one of which was a 56-yarder to Darnell Mooney in the first quarter of the game. He made up 52 of the team’s 149 total rushing yards too.

Quizzed on the Bears’ struggles with the air attack after the loss, the QB answered with a question.

“Who said the passing game wasn’t working?” he asked (H/T Heavy.com).

Upon being told that the numbers suggest as much, he said: “Numbers don’t matter, I don’t think, in my opinion, but as long as we win, like I said, that’s all I care about.”

Of course, the argument would have been a good one had the Bears won on Sunday. The two games that they have won this season were more down to the defense.

To be fair, Fields wasn’t so dismissive when asked whether he believes the Bears’ passing game could use some improvement if they are to stack up against the best teams in the NFL.

“For sure,” he admitted. “I think the run game and the passing game have to be good for us to compete with the good teams.”

Fields’ issues extend past his throwing of the football, as he has had lots of difficulties completing passes when under pressure. He’s already been sacked 16 times this season, making just five completions when facing pressure from opposing defenses. Having dropped back from the expected safety of the offensive line’s pocket on 49 occasions, he’s only managed the aforementioned five completions. 

While the 23-year-old has taken plenty of hits so far this season, the quarterback claims he’s feeling a lot better than he used to after games when he was a rookie last year. 

“I think I’ve done a good job compared to last year taking way less hits. I mean my body feels way better than after the games last year for sure,” he insisted.

“I think we’ve just got to be more consistent. Whether it’s me, whether it’s O-Line, whether it’s the receivers,” he continued. “Some plays we’re all on the same page, we’re all executing great, and then some plays we aren’t. The biggest thing with that, you know, is just consistency,” the Bears QB added.

Despite what Field might think of the Bears’ passing game, they aren’t doing enough to win games at the moment, and the team needs to throw a lot better than 100 passing yards a game in order to have any semblance of a meaningful season. 

Fans will hope to see improvements on that front when the Bears play the Minnesota Vikings in Week 5. Chicago isn’t favored to win that one at 13/5 – the Vikings are 5/16 – but supporters will surely be looking to take on those odds, especially as reputable bookmaker BetMGM has come to Illinois. 

The Bears have other things to worry about, though. The team lost its best offensive lineman against the Giants on Sunday, with left guard Cody Whitehair leaving the game with a knee injury. 

Head coach Matt Eberflus confirmed that the player will miss time while speaking to reporters on Monday but would not say whether the player would be placed in the injured reserve, which would mean Whitehair would have to miss at least four games. The coach said he wouldn’t be divulging as much until Wednesday when he is obligated to report injuries.

In any case, Eberflus certainly expects Whitehair to play again this season.

The player’s absence could prove costly for Chicago given that he’s been their most consistent offensive lineman this term, especially as Fields has been struggling with protection all season. 

Bears playing catch-up after a slow start

Avatar The Chicago Journal Staff on September 29, 2022

The 2022/23 National Football League season had been billed as an important one for the Chicago Bears, with followers of the club hoping to see their side hold their own during the regular season before going on to mix it with the best in the new year. The Bears are rarely expected to make a serious challenge to win the Super Bowl – despite doing just that once before, but the team’s only success came almost 40 years ago. 

That wait is too long in the minds of everyone with a passion for Chicago football, but is it about to change? Is this the season when the head coach Matt Eberflus finally takes his team in the long run to the deciding match? It’s possible, and fans know they must continue to be optimistic and support the team, but the current crop of players looks to be some way off that magical team of 1985. 

There’s a lot of football still to be played, and the leading names from Illinois sports betting aren’t about to get carried away. With the season just two games old, fans won’t be reaching for the panic button anytime soon either, but there hasn’t been too much by way of encouragement. It has been a slower-than-expected start, with the Bears already playing catch-up. 

Can they turn it around? Our team of football fanatics and sports betting experts bring you up to speed on what’s happening at Soldier Field as well as how traders working at the leading betting apps have responded. If it’s worth knowing and relates to the Chicago Bears’ season, you’ll find it covered below.

Slow start
There was an air of enthusiasm amongst the supporters ahead of week one, and the Bears had a great chance to get off to a winning start and set out their stall for the season ahead. Chicago wanted to prove to their doubters that they have the squad depth, character and belief to make a dent in this season. Did they live up to expectations, giving supporters something to get excited about?

Week one ended with a home-field victory over the visiting San Francisco 49ers, with the final scoreboard reading 19-10 in the home team’s favour. The bare result tells the story of an easy win, but that wasn’t the case. The Bears were pushed hard by the 49ers, made to work every minute of every quarter. The opener ended without a point scored before Philly went into half-time with a 7-0 lead. 

The pressure was on their opponents to respond, and they edged their way back in the third, winning 7-3. It was set up for a grandstand finish, with both teams knowing what they needed to do to get the result. Chicago stepped up and delivered, winning the final quarter 12-0 to claim the victory.

Improvements needed
It was a great start with the players’ battling qualities the most impressive aspect of the game, at least in the eyes of those with a passion for Chicago. They had the opportunity to go 2-0 for the season but came up short against the Green Bay Packers.

The team knew they were up against it at Lambeau Field and were aware that improvement on the first match was needed, but it never came. The Packers wiped the floor with the Bears, winning 27-10 thanks to a stunning second quarter when they fought back from 7-3 down by winning 21-0. That was a thrashing; one Chicago couldn’t come back from. All the great work from the previous game was undone, spoiled by a lack of concentration and several easily avoidable errors.

Bookies’ view
What do the bookies make for Chicago’s chances this year? Will they make it to the playoffs or go all the way and win the Super Bowl? Will they crash out of the running at the earliest opportunity, playing the entire season this year?

That remains to be seen, but we can get an idea of what to expect from the players by looking at the opinion of the biggest bookies. The current Super Bowl betting odds has Chicago as the 27th most likely winner. A tad harsh, to say the least. According to the bookies, Chicago has less chance of glory than the Washington Commanders, Jacksonville Jaguars and New York Giants. Time will tell.