Where will Bears finish in NFC North? Oddsmakers release odds for exact placement in division originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago
Oddsmakers expect the Bears to improve in the NFC North this year, but not by much. BetOnline released odds for the exact placement of each team within their respective divisions and they had the shortest odds for the Bears to finish in third place.
Here’s the slate:
Third place: +200
Fourth place: +210
Second place: +300
First place: +350
The +200 odds for the third place wager mean that if the Bears do finish in third place a $100 bet would win $200 for a total payout of $300.
Looking at the full board also indicates that oddsmakers believe the Bears have a better chance of finishing in last place for a third-consecutive season than they do of making a jump all the way up to second place or a division title.
The Bears were a 7-10 team last year and they got significantly better (on paper) over the offseason. Rookie quarterback Caleb Williams is uber-talented and is walking into what could be the best situation for a No. 1 overall QB in NFL history. He has an incredible group of playmakers to help him and an ascending defense that took away the football at a high rate in 2023.
The Bears also benefit from playing the “softer” teams on their schedule early in the season, which will give Williams and the offense time to find an identity and develop chemistry without facing a gauntlet of fearsome opponents.
But every one of the Bears’ NFC North opponents could give them trouble. The Lions were a few plays away from making it to the Super Bowl last year. The Vikings have defensive coordinator Brian Flores who’s known for designing creative pressure schemes that give QBs trouble. The Packers are the Packers and have dominated the Bears for decades.
At the time of publication, Vegas has the Bears’ W-L line set at 8.5 wins this season, with -165 odds offered for the over. That means oddsmakers give the Bears an implied ~62% chance of winning at least nine games. But nine wins might not be enough to finish any higher than third in the division this year.