5 days ago
2
The NFC North champion Chicago Bears will host the Green Bay Packers in Saturday night's NFL wild-card game, the third time these division rivals will square off this season.
The teams split the regular-season series, with each one winning at home — and now will face each other for the third time since Week 14. The Packers enter the postseason on a four-game losing streak, while the Bears have dropped two straight.
Advertisement
Ben Fawkes gathers quotes from oddsmakers for all the games and our team of NFL handicappers provides their favorite wagers on the game.
Odds courtesy of BetMGM.
No. 7 Green Bay Packers (-1, 45.5) at No. 2 Chicago Bears
What oddsmakers are saying
"We opened Bears 1-point home favorites, moved to pick-em. We’re still at pick, I think BetMGM nationally and some other places are Packers -1. Obviously, with a game lying around pick-em or 1, it’s going to be pretty balanced action and that’s the case here. Total has dropped 46.5 to 45.5. Most popular Saturday teaser is teasing the Rams down to -4.5, paired with the Bears to +6.” — Thomas Gable, sportsbook director at The Borgata
Advertisement
"We opened Bears -1.5 at even money, now sitting at Packers -1.5 at even money. Slight move towards the Packers. Green Bay hasn’t looked the same since losing Micah Parsons. The Bears are starting to garner a little bit of action, but jury is still out on if Caleb Williams can be efficient. Total a little bit of the move towards the under, 46.5 to 45.5. Pretty good two-way action on the side, a little bit more Bears money but I anticipate come Saturday we’re going to need the Bears." — Joey Feazel, head of NFL trading at Caesars Sportsbook
Best bets
Matt Russell: Remember that fateful day in August when the Packers traded for Micah Parsons, and they became the favorite to win the NFC North, and shot up the oddsboard in the Super Bowl futures market?
If the betting market needed any more reason to get excited about Green Bay, the Packers beat the Lions in the opener, and handled the Commanders with ease four days later. That set up a market rating for the Packers that they have almost never lived up to the rest of the way, going 4-10-1 against the spread, and have nothing to show for the Parsons trade for the rest of the season.
Advertisement
The Packers, +1.5 in this Week 16 matchup, coughed up a 10-point lead late in Soldier Field, then were dominated on the metaphorical frozen tundra of Lambeau Field by the Ravens, before opting-out of Week 18, and yet, they’re now better than 50/50 to win this game?
Matt Lafleur is still dining out on three playoff wins — two as a home favorite with Aaron Rodgers and a road blowout of the Cowboys — but, in a pick’em game that likely comes down to one crucial offensive play, I’ll take my chances with Ben Johnson, handing Lafleur his sixth — and maybe final — playoff loss as Green Bay’s head coach.
Bet: Bears +1
Matt Jacob: Caleb Williams was a model of consistency down the stretch of the regular season — at least in the touchdown throwing department.
Advertisement
The Bears’ second-year quarterback had exactly two scoring tosses in each of his last five games. The opponent in two of those contests? The Packers.
Williams also had a trio of TD passes against both the Steelers (Week 12) and Bengals (Week 9), giving the 2022 Heisman Trophy winner multiple touchdowns in seven of Chicago’s last 10 games (including each of his last four at Soldier Field).
[Yahoo Sports TV is here! Watch live shows and highlights 24/7]
Even though this is Williams’ first playoff game, I fully expect Bears coach Ben Johnson to continue to trust his young (and rapidly improving) quarterback. And why not, considering the Packers’ defense yielded 24 passing touchdowns in the regular season.
Of those 24 scores, 11 came in a five-game stretch from Weeks 13-17 — and, again, Williams threw four of them.
Bet: Caleb Williams over 1.5 passing TDs (+100)
English (US) ·