By Jordan Long
The NFL season starts on September 5th when the Chicago Bears travel to face the Green Bay Packers. Super Bowl LIV will be played on February 2nd in Miami, Florida. People are making bets on who they think will win the “big game”. The New England Patriots and Kansas City Chiefs are co-favorites at 7-1. There is more money starting to come in for the Chicago Bears and the Cleveland Browns to win the Super Bowl.
The Bears are 9-1 odds to take home the Vince Lombardi Trophy according to Caesars Sportsbook in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Bears make a lot of sense for people to make a wager on. They went 12-4 last year and won the NFC North Division. Their defense was one of the best in the NFL. They were 3rd in yards allowed with 299.7 yards. Teams weren’t able to run the football on them giving up an impressively low 80 yards per game.
The offense wasn’t great averaging 343.9 yards per game. Through the air they managed 222.8 yards per game. The offensive line was able to create holes for the running backs, averaging 121.1 yards per game. The offense and the defense helped the Bears reach the Wild Card game. Unfortunately, they lost 16-15 to the Philadelphia Eagles when their kicker Cody Parkey missed a 43-yard field goal which hit the upright and the crossbar to end the game.
Chicago’s defense is going to be hard to beat this year. They have one of the top linebackers in all of football in Khalil Mack. He is going to disrupt the opposing offenses with pressure. These could be sacks or passes off target for the quarterbacks which could be interceptions.
On offense, quarterback Mitchell Trubisky is in his 3rd year. Last season he tossed for 3,223 yards with 24 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. Another year like that and the Bears should win the NFC North Division and who knows what will happen in the playoffs. It makes more sense to bet on the Bears than the Browns.
The Browns sit at 10-1 odds to win the Super Bowl. This is a team that is coming off a 7-8-1 season. Quarterback Baker Mayfield should be improved from last year when he threw for 3,725 yards, 27 touchdowns and 14 interceptions.
The problem was the offensive line couldn’t keep him upright. Defenses were able to create pressure and take him down with 25 sacks. He also lost the football 4 times. Since they didn’t upgrade the offensive line, it could be a long year for them.
One move they did make was adding a wide receiver in Odell Beckham Jr. on March 13th. He is a top wide receiver in the NFL who can catch the football. This is going to help the Browns move the chains and score points.
On defense they aren’t improved. Mayfield can move the offense to score points but the defense has to help him out. The Browns’ defense couldn’t stop opponents from scoring, giving up 24.5 points a game, ranking 21st in the NFL. It looks like more of the same from the defense on paper.
With money coming in for both the Bears and the Browns, bettors are expecting a lot from both of them. They have a chance to reach the Super Bowl since the NFL hasn’t started the regular season yet. There is no safe wager, but the Bears seem like the better team to place money on. U3
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