It might be a day late but the Chicago Bears would certainly take a victory for a Christmas gift. Losers of nine straight the Bears will host the Seattle Seahawks in the Week 17 and final Thursday Night Football game of the NFL season. Six weeks into the season the Bears were 4-2 and battling for first place in the NFC North. While the other teams in the division all continued to win the Bears haven’t tasted victory since beating Jacksonville in Week 6. They were dealt a ninth straight setback by Detroit on Sunday, 34-17, failing to cover in their third straight game while going 2-6-1 ATS during the skid. The Seahawks got some key players back for Sunday’s game with Minnesota and emerged as a slight 2.5-point favorite on the early line at the Crypto Sportsbook.
NFL Betting Lines
Seahawks at Bears Betting Lines
Seattle Seahawks -2.5 / ML -135
Chicago Bears +2.5 / ML +115
Over / Under 41.5
It’s been quite a chaotic season for the Bears, who entered with so much hope after drafting Caleb Williams first overall and adding some weapons to what had been a lackluster offense the past few years. Williams has flashed glimpse of being a franchise quarterback, but while the skill player additions were big the club failed to address the offensive line. A week after looking confused in a loss to Minnesota, Williams put up big numbers against Detroit going 26 of 40 for 334 yards and two touchdowns. While his game has been shaky at times, Williams continued his streak without an interception. He’s gone nine straight games without a pick, unfortunately the Bears lost every game.
It’s hard to get any continuity when the coaching staff turns over as often as it has. Offensive coordinator Matt Waldron was relieved of his duties shortly before Matt Eberflus was fired, and the Bears have at times looked out of sorts. The staff failed to work around Williams’ strengths and a weak line. Williams has thrown for 3,288 yards and 16 touchdowns, but he’s also the most sacked QB in the league getting taken down 60 times. The next closest is CJ Stroud, who’s been sacked 47 times.
In the past when the offense sputtered the Bears would rely on a stingy defense. They haven’t even been able to do that recently. They held nine of their first 10 opponents to 21 points or less but the group has faltered over the last month allowing at least 30 points in four of the last five games. Detroit piled up 475 yards on Sunday with Jared Goff throwing for 336 yards and three TDs and Jahmyr Gibbs rushing for 109 yards as the lead back with David Montgomery on the shelf.
The Seahawks are hoping to be more of a threat on offense now that Geno Smith avoided serious injury and leading rusher Kenneth Walker has returned. Smith exited the Green Bay game a few weeks ago with an injury, but he returned for Sunday’s game with the Vikings. Walker had rushed for 542 yards and seven TDs before missing a few games with a leg injury. He was back in the lineup against the Vikings forming a formidable backfield duo with Zach Charbonnet. Getting more from the ground game would help Smith in the passing game; Seattle ranks 31st in rushing averaging less than 95 yards.
Seattle can be explosive on offense and with a demoralized Bears unit standing in their way look for Geno to take advantage. And Chicago hasn’t been able to protect Caleb leaving him on island a lot of the time. I like Williams and think he’ll be a fine player, but the Bears need some continuity in the coaching staff and that’s not coming until the club makes some decisions this offseason. Therefore backing the visitors makes minus the points makes a lot of sense.
Seahawks at Bears Same Game Parlay Picks
Seahawks -2.5
Seahawks / Bears OVER 41.5
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