The Green Bay Packers (12-3) will be the No. 1 seed in the NFC playoffs if they can defeat the Chicago Bears (8-7) yet again on Sunday as solid road favorites at sportsbooks monitored by Odds Shark. The Packers have won nine of the past 10 road meetings with the Bears, who also need a win or an Arizona Cardinals loss to make the playoffs.
- Date/Time: January 3, 1 p.m. ET
- Stadium: Soldier Field
- TV Coverage: Fox
- Sportsbook Odds: Packers -3.5 | O/U 49 (Line History)
- Packers vs Bears Matchup Report
Sportsbook Odds Analysis
Predictably, the point spread has jumped up a few points in favor of Green Bay, with the team still having something to play for in Week 17 and owning a decided advantage in this rivalry recently. While Chicago might need to win to get into the postseason, bettors know how poorly this series has gone for the Monsters of the Midway. That said, the Bears are playing at perhaps their highest level offensively in franchise history, scoring 30 points or more in four consecutive games for the first time since 1965. That would help explain why the total has also risen more than two points in early betting action.
Green Bay News & Notes
The Packers are the toast of the NFC right now, playing about as well as they possibly can without having much competition in their conference. They have already beaten the New Orleans Saints, and the NFL’s best defensive team (the Los Angeles Rams) might not even make the playoffs, so things are definitely looking up in Green Bay.
It appears to be Super Bowl or bust, though, for future Hall of Fame quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who has taken over as the odds-on favorite to win his third career NFL MVP award. However, it is worth noting that no MVP has won the Super Bowl in the same year since Kurt Warner did it with the Rams when they played in St. Louis two decades ago.
Regardless, Rodgers has dominated Chicago like no other besides his predecessor Brett Favre, and he always seems to be at his best when he has the chance to stick it to his division rival.
Chicago News & Notes
The Bears look like they are having fun again after their season appeared to be over following a stunning 34-30 loss to the Detroit Lions as 3-point home favorites four weeks ago. Two of their three wins during their current hot streak have come as underdogs, and the OVER is also on a 4-1 run in their past five.
While Chicago’s defense has not played like it can lately, the unit has shown glimpses against bad teams like the Houston Texans and Jacksonville Jaguars. The bad news is that the Bears have surrendered an average of 34 points in their last three divisional games, including a 41-25 loss at Green Bay in Week 12. All three of those games finished OVER the total too.
Betting Pick: OVER 51.5
The Packers do not look like their offense can be stopped, scoring 30 points or more in five of their last six games. Green Bay cruised to a 27-10 halftime lead in the first meeting and has the potential to do something similar here so the team can rest some players. The Bears also know what is on the line for them and will try their best to keep up on the scoreboard. There is little value now with the point spread, so bet OVER the total instead.
- The Bears are 2-6 ATS in their last 8 divisional games.
- The Packers are 8-2 ATS in their past 10 road games vs the Bears.
- The UNDER is 14-4 in Chicago’s last 18 home games.
