Bears vs. Cardinals Final Score Prediction for NFL Week 9 (Chicago Poised for a Bounce Back Performance)

Iain MacMillan | Nov 1, 2024

Oct 13, 2024; London, United Kingdom; Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams (18) throws the ball against the Jacksonville Jaguars in the first half during an NFL International Series game at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

The Chicago Bears will try to quickly get over losing the Miracle in Maryland when they head to Arizona in Week 9 to take on Kyler Murray and the Arizona Cardinals. Chicago's schedule in the second half of the season is a gauntlet of tough teams so walking away with a victory in winnable games is crucial for their playoff hopes.

The Cardinals come into this week surprisingly sitting in first place in the NFC West, but with both the 49ers and Seahawks holding the same record, they'll need to continue to win to hold on to that spot.

Let's dive into the latest odds for this NFC showdown and then I'll predict the final score.

Bears vs. Cardinals Odds, Spread, and Total

Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook

Spread

• Bears +1.5 (-112)
• Cardinals -1.5 (-108)

Moneyline

• Bears +102
• Cardinals -122

Total

• OVER 44.5 (-110)
• UNDER 44.5 (-110)

The Bears originally opened as 1-point favorites but the line has since flipped and they're now 1.5-point underdogs. The total also decreased a point from 45.5 to 44.5.

Bears vs. Cardinals Final Score Prediction

In this week's edition of the "Road to 272 Bets", I broke down why I'm backing the Bears to win in Arizona:

Kyler Murray has a tough test ahead of him in the Bears, who rank second in the NFL in opponent dropback EPA and sixth in opponent dropback success rate. The Bears' defense hasn't got enough credit for being a dominant unit this season. If Chicago can get any level of production from its offense, they can beat Arizona on the road.

Thankfully for them, the Cardinals' defense is one of the worst in the league, ranking 29th in opponent EPA per play and dead last in opponent success rate. Surely, the Bears can't have a dud performance against a bad defense two weeks in a row.

When it comes to the total, I'll bank on it staying under the total given how much I trust the Bears' defense. If they can shut down Murray like they've done with plenty of other quarterbacks this season, we could see a low-scoring affair.

Final score prediction: Bears 21, Cardinals 16

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Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

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You can check out all of Iain's bets here!