When the Chicago Bears traveled to Motown for their Week 2 matchup against the Detroit Lions, the Lions won big, 52-21. The Lions and their fans were excited about that game, and it had a playoff-like atmosphere, because they wanted to make a statement and beat up Ben Johnson for leaving to become the Bears’ head coach.
Looking back, it tells us that the Week 2 win for Lions fans was like their Super Bowl, because earlier this week, their team was eliminated from the playoffs. So that they can raise the “He beat Ben Johnson in his first match back” Banner and enjoy the off season!
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But seriously, the (8-8) Lions are still a dangerous team with a powerful offense, and the (11-5) Bears will need to bounce back after the loss in San Francisco to clinch the two NFC spots.
The Lions-Bears rematch in Week 18 is in Chicago, and our partners at FanDuel Sportsbook have the Bears as 1.5-point favorites, with a total over/under of 49.5 points from the game.
Both Chicago and the Philadelphia Eagles (11-5) are competing for that second spot, and both will play in the late afternoon window. Philadelphia is a 7.5-point favorite over the visiting Washington Commanders, and if the Bears and Eagles finish with the same record, Chicago has the tiebreaker.
What do you think about the initial odds of these games?
Do you think the Bears will win and clinch both spots?