Bears vs Titans Picks, Starters & Betting Splits on Aug 29
By Eric Rosales in NFL News
Published:
- The Tennessee Titans are 2.5-point home favorites in their preseason finale vs the Chicago Bears
- Titans HC Robert Saleh said his starters will likely see some action in this Weeek 3 game
- See below for the Bears vs Titans picks, starters and betting splits
Tonight’s preseason finale between the Tennessee Titans and visiting Chicago Bears will be the last NFL game you’ll see this season that doesn’t have any meaning to it.
Titans-Bears closes out the preseason slate, with Tennessee favored by 2.5 points in the NFL odds.
New Tennessee head coach Robert Saleh always plays to win, and he’s indicated his starters will see a workload of around 20-25 snaps. Chicago HC Ben Johnson is less committed, though that doesn’t mean we won’t see Caleb Williams and company for a snap or two.
Action gets underway tonight at 6pm ET from Nissan Stadium in Nashville, TN, with NFL Network providing the broadcast coverage.
Bears vs Titans Picks
- Titans -2.5 (-115 at bet365)
When you take over a team given the second-lowest number in the NFL win totals, there’s going to need to be some heavy evaluation, and Saleh isn’t holding his guys back — their players need reps in his new system.
Saleh plays to win anyways: he has the best cover rate in the preseason amongst all active head coaches, now 10-3-1 against the spread between his stint with the Jets and his first two preseason games with the Titans.
Tennessee’s offense hasn’t looked great, generating 19 points each in two preseason games, and second-year pivot Cam Ward hasn’t crossed 70 yards passing in either game, but Saleh said this will be his longest, extended action in the preseason. That should count for something.
Under Johnson, Caleb Williams was unleashed last year, and expectations are high, with the third-year pro a dark horse in the NFL MVP odds, and the Bears one of seven teams with minus odds to Make the NFL Playoffs.
So the Bears aren’t overly concerned they took a 27-9 beating at the hands of the Bengals last week. I expect them to be extremely vanilla on both sides of the ball, trying to get out of the preseason as healthy as possible.
I like Ward and Titans to put in enough work before backups on both sides mercifully take us to the end of the preseason.
CHI Bears vs TEN Titans Who’s Playing
We know the Titans are trying to build chemistry on the fly behind 2025 no. 1 pick Cam Ward, and the Bears still have some key position battles that will get a final look tonight.
CHI Bears
- Malik Muhammad (DB): The rookie could find himself as a solid contributor if he can also cover in the slot, as the corner spots are pretty solid
- Kiran Amegadjie (OL): It’s a make or break game for the 2024 Day 2 pick, who needs a strong showing to nab a backup OL spot
- Kaden Davis vs Scotty Miller (WR): There’s likely room for just one vet pass catcher, and this battle for the final receiver is up for grabs
- Roschon Johnson & Salvon Ahmed (RB): It’s a battle to the wire for the RB3 spot. Johnson has been more consistent, but Ahmed has shown more explosiveness
TEN Titans
- Cam Ward (QB): It’s just year 2, but its also year 2. It would be nice to see him really take the reins and show out before Week 1
- Cordell Volson (G): He’s fighting for his roster spot to be a backup on the O-line, and needs a good showing Saturday
- Mario Goodrich (CB): A late camp addition, Goodrich has been noticeable, and may work his way into a depth corner roster spot
- Bryce Oliver and Xavier Restrepo (WR): Both bring value on special teams, but both would love to work their way into the receiver room as well
Bears vs Titans Odds and Betting Splits
Odds as of August 29th from bet365. Click here for a bet365 Sportsbook promo code to bet on NFL games this season.
The Titans are getting -155 odds to win outright, but that number gets a little better, to -115 if you take them to win by at least three points on the spread.
Chicago, meanwhile, is a +130 underdog to pick up the W. The juice is lessened to -105 if you take them on the spread, where they are getting 2.5 points.
The total is set at 37.5 points, with both ends of the betting spectrum offering -110 odds.
It’s pretty split in the NFL public betting trends, where Tennessee is getting 76% of the tickets on the moneyline, but only 52% of the money, meaning there are a lot of big bets on the 25% of tickets taking Chicago.
On the spread, the Bears are getting 66% of the wagers with 56% of the stake.
The public seems split on the total, too, with 52% of the money taking the Over on 62% of the tickets.
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