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Bears Receive Massive Vote of Confidence from Bettors in Win Total Projection
The Chicago Bears have finished over .500 just one time since the 2013 season, but bettors are expecting that to change in the 2024 season.
With No. 1 overall pick Caleb Williams now leading the way at the quarterback position, Chicago is the most bet team to go over its win total in the 2024 season, according to BetMGM's John Ewing.
BetMGM Sportsbook has Chicago set at 8.5 wins entering the 2024 campaign.
.@ChicagoBears win total 8.5.
— John Ewing (@johnewing) July 16, 2024
Bears are the most bet team to go OVER their win total at #BetMGM pic.twitter.com/YJM6SyvxVv
The last time Chicago finished a season with more than eight wins was the 2018 campaign when it went 12-4 and won the NFC North. Chicago had an elite defense that season, and it was the first season under new head coach Matt Nagy.
The rest of the Nagy era was downhill, as Chicago has not won more than eight games in a season since. In two seasons with Matt Eberflus at the helm, the Bears finished 3-14 and 7-10, taking a step forward last season.
That didn't stop them from trading quarterback Justin Fields and taking Williams at No. 1, but the new quarterback is viewed as a generational prospect that could change the entire course of the Chicago franchise.
Entering the 2024 season, the NFC North projects to be a tough division with both the Detroit Lions and Green Bay Packers returning several key players after making the postseason in 2023. That could put the Bears at a bit of a disadvantage when it comes to making the playoffs, but we've seen teams make jumps from the bottom half of a division to a division winner before.
A lot of this season will ride on Williams, Rome Odunze, Keenan Allen, and this new-look Chicago offense to be one of the best units in the league. If that happens, Chicago certainly could find itself over .500 and in the playoff mix.
Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.
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PETER DEWEY
Peter is a senior editor for Sports Illustrated Betting. He has worked as a writer and editor for BetSided, NBC Sports, the Connecticut Sun and the Meriden Record-Journal covering the NBA, WNBA, NFL, MLB, and more. A New York City resident, he is a hoops fanatic with a soft spot for his New York Knicks.