The Chicago Bears and Seattle Seahawks will have a quick turnaround to their matchup in the second week of the NFL preseason. The Bears, who won their first preseason game, will visit the Seahawks, who lost their opener, at Lumen Field on Thursday night. Kickoff is scheduled for 8 p.m. ET.
The Bears beat the Kansas City Chiefs 19-14 on Saturday, but were shut out in the first half. A total of 23 Chicago players missed the game.
Chicago may be without David Montgomery, Cole Kmet, and Velus Jones Jr. on offense again this week, but rookie cornerback Kyler Gordon is expected to be able to make his pro debut.
The Seahawks dropped a 32-25 decision to the Pittsburgh Steelers on Saturday. The spotlight will be on Geno Smith this week after it was announced on Tuesday that Drew Lock tested positive for COVID-19 and will miss the game.
Both quarterbacks had their good and concerning moments against the Steelers. Smith did not throw a touchdown pass, but ran for a score. Lock passed for two TDs, but also lost a fumble. Now Smith has a significant chance to show he is worthy of being named the official starter.
Both teams are projected to miss the NFC playoffs this season. The continuation of a rebuild around second-year quarterback Justin Fields resumes this season with low expectations in Chicago.
The Seahawks are beginning a new era after trading Russell Wilson and releasing Bobby Wagner in the offseason. Let’s dig into our Chicago vs Seattle best bets and predictions.
Bears vs Seahawks Odds
Our NFL odds indicate that the Seahawks are favored to win their first preseason game this week. Smith’s play and how the defense fares will be the keys to a victory, but it won’t be easy.
The Bears’ defense looked good overall against Kansas City, and Seattle’s defense allowed four TD passes to the Steelers.
Bears vs Seahawks Implied Score
Seahawks 21.5, Bears 18
The bookmakers are not expecting a shootout. Seattle is projected to prevail, possibly because Smith should play well enough to keep the Seahawks in line for a win, while we may not see enough of Fields to stir optimism about Chicago. But Chicago should play well enough to cover the spread.
Bears vs Seahawks Pick of the Day
Read more on this Bears vs Seahawks bet below.
Bears vs Seahawks Matchup
The apparent major storyline in this game will be if Smith can gain a bigger edge over Lock while he misses the game. The Chicago defense had four sacks and forced two turnovers against Kansas City, so Smith will have to be decisive behind a new-look offensive line that allowed three sacks to Pittsburgh.
Fields played three series in the preseason opener, and then backup Trevor Siemian led three scoring drives and passed for two scores. The Seahawks defense has been dealing with some preseason injuries at cornerback, where they are trying to determine their starters for the 2022 campaign.
If Fields comes out and performs well against the Seattle pass defense, and Siemian sustains the momentum, the Bears should have the edge. Chicago should be able to gain control when Jacob Eason takes over at QB for Seattle.
The Seahawks did not have any of its top four projected WRs last week as DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett were held out and D’Wayne Eskridge (hamstring) and Freddie Swain (back) were unavailable. Eskridge and Swain are not expected to play on Thursday. Seattle’s passing game is looking thinned heading into their first date at home without Wilson.
Bears vs Seahawks Prediction
Bears 23, Seahawks 17
Fields had just four completions and took two sacks, while rushing just once against the Chiefs. We may see him operate more successfully this week, as the Bears attempt to target the Seattle secondary, and Fields will keep the Seahawks defense on alert with his dual-threat abilities. He needs to create some of his own room to operate behind a shaky offensive line.
Once Siemian comes into the game, if he can keep the passing attack moving as well as he did last week, the Seahawks will be forced to pass to keep up. That will be a challenge against Matt Eberflus’ aggressive defense.
A key for the Seahawks will be to run the ball as effectively as they did against the Steelers. DeeJay Dallas and Travis Homer combined to rush for 114 yards last week. We may not see much of Metcalf and Lockett, if at all, in this matchup, meaning Smith and Eason will be working with a short-handed crew.
Ultimately, this matchup will come down to which team fares better on defense, and the Bears get the nod there, especially with Eason now expected to log more playing time in Lock’s place.
Bears vs Seahawks Bet Tips
Both teams are expected to be among the lower-scoring ballclubs in the NFC in 2022, but the Bears should be able to generate enough offense to push this game over the projected total.
- The Over is 4-1 in the Bears’ last five road games
- The Over is 5-1 in the Seahawks’ last six games.
- Geno Smith lost two of his three starts for Seattle in 2021.
Bears vs Seahawks Best Bets
Over 39.5 Total Points (-110) at BetMGM Sportsbook
WAGER: 2 Units
The Bears and Seahawks would be less likely to go Over the total if this were a regular-season matchup. Seattle’s front seven and safeties would help the cornerbacks out enough to limit a Chicago offense that didn’t do much to improve during the offseason.
Under Eberflus, the Bears defense could also make Smith struggle to keep drives alive. But in this one, the Chicago passing game should fare well enough as Seattle continues to depend heavily on rookies at cornerback because of injuries. Tariq Woolen and Coby Bryant were tested against Pittsburgh even though they should be eventual quality pros.
Bears rookie Trestan Ebner had 43 yards from scrimmage on seven touches last week and caught a TD pass. He should help the Bears establish some offensive balance.
Smith did show enough last week to make us confident about Seattle’s chances of contributing to our NFL Pick of the Day.
Bears +3.5 (-110) at BetMGM Sportsbook
WAGER: 1.5 Units
Undrafted rookie Jack Sanborn starred in the Bears’ preseason opener with a fumble recovery and an interception as the Chicago defense looked good against the Chiefs for the most part last week. The defensive front may cause issues for a retooled Seattle offensive line that can be improved this year, but is still learning to mesh together.
The Bears have a better chance to start out effectively on offense in this matchup, and once the second-teamers come into the game, Chicago will continue to score enough points to cover.
Smith has more experience in the Seattle offense than Lock, but the Seahawks offense may sputter at times under him, and Eason cannot be expected to deliver much.
Smith could indeed play well enough to keep the Seahawks close, but Seattle will fade when Eason enters the game. They’ll need a strong defensive performance to be worthy of favorite status in this matchup.
