NBA Postseason Best Bets (5/17)
Alex Christenson
The Los Angeles Rams continue to go for broke each NFL season and by going all-in on new quarterback Matthew Stafford, Rams backers are expecting big things for them in 2021. Los Angeles gets the season started by welcoming the Chicago Bears for Week 1 and oddsmakers opened the Rams as 7-point favorites and to start the season off with a bang.
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Chicago Bears vs. Los Angeles Rams Week 1 Odds
Date/Time: September 12, 8:20 p.m. ET
Arena: SoFi Stadium
How to watch: NBC
Opening odds: Rams -7 | O/U 45 (BetMGM)
Latest Bears vs. Rams odds
Looking for the latest odds for this matchup? Here they are, with the best prices from various sportsbooks showing first.
Opening odds – Bears vs. Rams
After opening as 7-point favorites for their Week 1 game vs. the Bears, early bettors have moved this line to Los Angeles Rams to -7.5 for their 2021 home opener. Nearly 70% of the bets are on the Rams to win and cover at home as the Bears’ quarterback situation has clouded early outlooks on the Bears’ prospects. The total opened at 45 but early action on the under has pushed this number down slightly to 44.5 with bettors anticipating a defensive battle between these NFC squads.
Quarterback analysis — Andy Dalton/Justin Fields vs. Matthew Stafford
The Chicago Bears have a bit of a conundrum at the game’s most important position, because while quarterback Andy Dalton has said he plans to start and the team has said that is the plan, Justin Fields has looked good in the preseason. Dalton looked pedestrian with the Cowboys last season, but head coach Matt Nagy may opt to start him over a rookie. Fields has had flashes in preseason but has also had some first-year mistakes playing behind a less than stellar offensive line.
As for the Los Angeles Rams, they have Matthew Stafford making his debut. He did his best last year to keep a bad Lions team afloat with 26 passing touchdowns and 12 interceptions with over 4,000 yards passing. He should be an upgrade over Jared Goff, who may have been too reliant on head coach Sean McVay’s playcalling.
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Latest Bears betting news & info
The Bears were a bit of a hit-or-miss team last season with quarterbacks changing over seemingly each week between Mitchell Trubisky and Nick Foles. Neither was able to provide enough consistency at the position, which caused the Bears pivoting and starting over, signing a veteran in Dalton and drafting Fields in the 2021 NFL Draft. The Bears offense needs a spark after ranking 23rd in points scored per game and ranking in the bottom 10 in passing touchdowns in 2020.
Da Bears were 8-8 against the spread last year and 5-3 ATS on the road while winning four of those games as an outright underdog. Worth noting that those four underdog moneyline wins all came against teams that finished with a losing record.
Chicago’s defense should still be solid but over the last two seasons, the Bears have ranked in the bottom-five in turnovers generated compared to 2018 when they led the NFL in forced TOs.
Latest Rams betting news & info
The only team lately to use the NFL Draft as a bank account, the Los Angeles Rams are completely set up in “Win-Now” mode. The Rams decided to swap quarterbacks with the Detroit Lions and should be even better offensively in 2021. The Rams punted on offense last season while leaning on their defense and only averaged 23.3 points per game, the lowest in Sean McVay’s tenure. With Stafford in the fold, there’s no reason to think the Rams can’t jump back into the top five in most offensive categories and just traded for RB Sony Michel from the Patriots to revitalize their running game after Cam Akers was lost to injury.
The Rams finished 5-3 ATS in eight home games last season but hosted the Bears last year as 6.5-point favorites and won handily 24-10. The defense is a juggernaut with Aaron Donald and Jalen Ramsey and helped steer the Rams to having the top defense in the NFL in points allowed per game (18.5) in 2020. With no key injuries defensively, the Rams shouldn’t be overlooked in Week 1.
Bears vs. Rams betting picks — NFL Week 1
Most of the public action is on the Rams -7.5, and I can’t really blame those bettors. This isn’t the same feared Bears defense, and the offense is a bit of a mess while they work around what QB should be starting. I fully expect the Rams to pick apart the defense while stymying the Bears offense and win by double-digits. As for the total of 44.5, this is a very sharp line but is predicated on a similar result of last season when the Rams won 24-10. I think the UNDER is the only play here as both defenses will be fresh and should limit big plays.
Here are our betting picks for Bears vs. Rams in Week 1.
FTNBets best bets
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How to bet on this game
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