After Bad Beating at Home, Chicago Bears’ Super Bowl Odds Reach a Season-Worst
- Chicago has dropped its last two games in dispiriting fashion to fall to 3-3 on the season
- The Bears managed just 252 yards of offense in Sunday’s 36-25 home loss to the shorthanded Saints
- The Bears have dropped to +4000 in the updated Super Bowl 54 odds
After a 12-4 season last year that ended with their kicker hitting the uprights twice in a cruel playoff loss to Philadelphia, the Chicago Bears were confident coming into 2019. They opened the season with average odds of +1400 to win Super Bowl 54, but have since seen those odds fall sharply.
Despite jumping out to a 3-1 record after the first month, the Bears have lost back-to-back games and their offense has struggled at times and been almost non-existent at others. As a result, Chicago saw its 2020 Super Bowl odds drop from +3300 before Sunday’s 36-25 home loss to New Orleans to +4000 after Week 7.
Super Bowl 54 Odds
| Team | 2019 Record | Odds |
|---|---|---|
| New England Patriots | 6-0 | +240 |
| New Orleans Saints | 6-1 | +550 |
| Green Bay Packers | 6-1 | +900 |
| San Francisco 49ers | 6-0 | +950 |
| Kansas City Chiefs | 5-2 | +1000 |
| Baltimore Ravens | 5-2 | +1600 |
| Dallas Cowboys | 4-3 | +1600 |
| Los Angeles Rams | 4-3 | +1800 |
| Minnesota Vikings | 5-2 | +1800 |
| Philadelphia Eagles | 3-4 | +2200 |
| Chicago Bears | 3-3 | +4000 |
*Odds taken on 10/21/19
A Month to Forget
October hasn’t been kind to the Chicago Bears or their fans. They entered 3-1 and riding a three-game win streak, but a pair of dispiriting losses on either side of their bye week has left their season in tatters.
If a three-point loss to the Oakland Raiders wasn’t demoralizing enough, Sunday’s home defeat to a New Orleans Saints squad devoid of Alvin Kamara, Jared Cook and Drew Brees was a real dagger through the heart.
FINAL: @Saints improve to 6-1 on the season! #Saints #NOvsCHI pic.twitter.com/60BdbNdQWM
— NFL (@NFL) October 20, 2019
As a result, they are three games back of the Green Bay Packers for the NFC North lead, and two back of the Minnesota Vikings, who currently occupy the second NFC Wild-Card berth.
Deja-vu All Over Again?
While the situation might appear bleak, Bears coach Matt Nagy has been here before. Just last year, his team was also sitting at 3-3 after back-to-back losses, and promptly won nine of its last 10 games to win the division.
The Bears need to go back to the drawing board and Matt Nagy should start with himself pic.twitter.com/e91FuGpT25
— Michael Wilbon (@RealMikeWilbon) October 21, 2019
However, it’s fair to say the differences between last year’s Bears team and this year’s squad are as clear as night and day. While the defense is still performing at a championship-caliber grade, the offense has been sputtering all season long.
The team has had much worse injury luck this year, such as a concussion to wideout Taylor Gabriel and a shoulder injury to quarterback Mitch Trubisky, who missed the Week 5 loss to the Raiders as a result.
Quarterback Woes
But even before getting injured, Trubisky had regressed this year as a passer. The third-year pivot has a quarterback rating of just 31.8 so far this season, marginally better than the 31.6 he had as a rookie but well shy of the 70.8 rating he had last year.
As a result, the Bears have registered just one win over a quality opponent – their Week 4 victory over Minnesota, a game in which Trubisky threw just three passes before leaving with an injury.
Maybe someone can help me understand what Trubisky was thinking? pic.twitter.com/XSCLVD19au
— Bears Barroom (@BearsBarroom) October 20, 2019
Sunday was the perfect illustration of just what ails this team. The team managed just 252 yards on offense, the majority of which came in the fourth quarter when the result of the game was already determined. Trubisky completed 34 of his 54 passes, but routinely overthrew his receivers when they were open.
And the running game was non-existent, with seven carries resulting in 17 yards and two lost fumbles.
The Road Ahead
Things aren’t likely to get much easier for the Bears over the remainder of the season. Chicago still has road games against Philadelphia, the Los Angeles Rams, Green Bay and Minnesota to come, along with home tilts against the Kansas City Chiefs and Dallas Cowboys.
Even if it manages to win one or two of those six, the remaining five losses would give the Bears seven or eight on the season, and an 8-8 or 9-7 record is unlikely to be good enough to sneak into the playoffs.
With the offense as moribund as it’s been, it’s just too hard to see a significant turnaround at this point of the season.
Pick: Don’t bet the Bears’ Super Bowl futures at +4000.
For the last 20 years, Paul Attfield has worked in sports media. Starting out in his native Britain with the likes of The Independent, he eventually switched continents, with his work appearing in the likes of the Los Angeles Times, Washington Post and Yahoo Sports since.
