The Bears will travel to Atlanta to take on the winless Falcons on Sunday. Here’s everything you need to know about the Bears-Falcons Week 3 matchup from an NFL betting perspective.
First, let’s take a look at the odds at all five Illinois online sportsbooks.
| BetRivers | DraftKings | FanDuel | PointsBet | William Hill | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TB Buccaneers | -3.5, 44.5 | -3.5, 44.5 | -3.5, 44 | -3.5, 44.5 | -3.5, 44.5 |
| CHI Bears | +3.5, 44.5 | +3.5, 44 | +3.5, 44 | +3.5, 44.5 | +3.5, 44.5 |
The Bears are 2-0 and the Falcons are 0-2, but you wouldn’t know that by looking at the odds above.
Atlanta opened as a consensus 3-point favorite, but early Falcons money must have poured in to bump up the line to 3.5.
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Bears’ competition has been suspect
The Bears have beaten the 0-2 Lions and the Giants, and they haven’t looked terribly impressive in doing so.
It took a D’Andre Swift dropped touchdown pass to eke out a win in Detroit, and Chicago failed to cover the 5.5-point spread in defeating New York sans Saquon Barkley for most of the game.
The Bears, who led 17-0 at halftime, hung on despite losing the second half 13-0.
So, while this is a winnable game for the Chicago Bears, the line makes sense.
Mitchell Trubisky isn’t playing well enough to inspire confidence as the long-term answer in Chicago, but he’s at least performed to the point where we don’t hear Nick Foles‘ name much anymore. On the season, Trubisky has a 92.7 passer rating to go with five touchdowns and two interceptions.
At least one of those picks was likely Allen Robinson‘s fault, so overall, Trubisky has been better than expected.
He’ll get another favorable matchup this weekend. The Falcons are allowing 476.5 yards per game through two weeks, ranking 31st in the NFL.
And they just coughed up a 39-30 lead with 2:52 to go to the Cowboys. Their win probability at the time was 99.9% … and they still lost, 40-39.
Atlanta is allowing a whopping 372 passing yards per game. Granted, the Falcons have faced Russell Wilson and Dak Prescott, two of the best quarterbacks in football.
But this is a nice matchup for Trubisky and a middling Bears offense.
Falcons are scary on offense
The Falcons may be 0-2, but their offense is not to blame.
Atlanta ranks fourth in total yardage and fifth in points per game.
Matt Ryan has been sensational, throwing for 723 yards through two games on eight yards per attempt.
He’ll face a Bears defense that has been hit-or-miss through two weeks. People who were hoping that unit would resemble the 2018 version more than the 2019 edition have been disappointed.
If not for the Swift dropped touchdown in the closing seconds of Week 1, the Bears would have allowed 30 points to Matthew Stafford and the Lions without Kenny Golladay.
They were better in Week 2, shutting out the Giants in the first half. But they allowed 13 unanswered points in the second half as Daniel Jones looked formidable.
Linebacker Danny Trevathan has been a problem in pass coverage, and not in the positive, 2020 social media tease kind of way. The Bears frequently played three safeties on Sunday to mask his struggles, which is likely not a solution for sustained success. Trevathan was a huge part of the Bears’ dominant 2018 defense.
The secondary will probably be the best the Falcons have faced, but without Eddie Goldman, the front seven has just been “fine.” Robert Quinn forced a fumble in his first snap as a Bear last week, and the effectiveness of the pass rush with Khalil Mack could be the difference in the game.
Chicago has five sacks through two games, which ranks 14th. While that’s not bad, it’s also not the kind of production you’d expect from a front seven that has Mack, Quinn and Akiem Hicks.
Right tackle Kaleb McGary will miss Week 3 for the Falcons, according to head coach Dan Quinn. The Bears should — and need to — pressure Ryan consistently.
Bears are very healthy
Considering the carnage we saw in Week 2, the Bears’ health is one of the best things they have going for them.
Mack and Quinn were limited in practice last week, but each played. And Chicago didn’t suffer any serious injuries against New York.
Beyond McGary, the Falcons have a banged up defense, but we will know more about the status of Kendall Sheffield, Charles Harris, Marlon Davidson and Ricardo Allen later in the week.
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