Bears-Packers betting lines and point spread updates for ‘Sunday Night Football’

If you took the Bears to cover the spread ... congratulations. If you took the Packers on the moneyline ... congratulations. Sunday Night Football was a wild one. The Bears jumped out to a 20-3 lead and looked ready to cruise to victory with Aaron Rodgers sidelined with a knee injury. Except, Rodgers made like Willis Reed, returning for the second half and leading the Packers back to a 24-23 victory. The final score hit the over on the 44.5 point total.

Packers reserve safety Josh Jones has been ruled out for the game, while linebackers Oren Burks and James Crawford are listed as questionable. Burks is the most notable, as he would start at inside linebacker if healthy.

Bears safety DeAndre Houston-Carson is listed as out, while tight end Daniel Brown is listed as doubtful. Both are reserves, although Brown could play some special teams if healthy.

Betting is all over the place with both teams giving fans some reason for optimism. Sportsbook operator William Hill has 100+ operations across the country, and as of Wednesday, 69 percent of the money they took in was on the Bears. In the online sportsbook world, 56 percent of money wagered as of Friday is on the Packers, according to OddsShark.

New Bears head coach Matt Nagy is getting people excited, but Aaron Rodgers’ return to health and the addition of some weapons makes it easy to be optimistic about Green Bay. I am leaning the Packers, even with the half point hook taking this to 7.5 points. Green Bay has considerable home success against the Bears. Chicago’s new-look offense is the big wild card in this one.

The 2018 NFL season gets underway this week, and we get a huge NFC North matchup to launch Sunday Night Football. Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers host Mitchell Trubisky and the Chicago Bears, in a matchup of the new and old guard of the division.

Oddsmakers opened Week 1 lines in April, shortly after the official schedule release. The Westgate SuperBook is usually one of the first to open Week 1 lines, and they installed the Packers as a nine point favorite. The line opened between eight and nine points, at other sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.

The line appeared to be settled in at eight points, but then, things got crazy for the Bears. They traded for Oakland Raiders edge rusher Khalil Mack, adding one of the best pass rushers in the league to an already improving defense. Big name players do not actually make a huge impact on single game lines, but it was enough in this case to bring the spread down a half point to 7.5 points. The point total is set at 47.5 points.

We’ll be back with updates throughout the week leading up to the game, but history does not bode well for Chicago. Green Bay is 12-3 against the spread (ATS) in its last 15 games against Chicago. Additionally, Green Bay is 5-2 ATS in its last seven home games against Chicago.