Ooof, what a terrible matchup we have on Thursday Night Football, as the 1-7 Carolina Panthers head to Solider Field to take on the 2-7 Chicago Bears. We’ve had some poor TNF matchups this season, but this one surely takes the cake. The Bears will look to bounce back after two straight losses, whilst the Panthers will be looking for something on offense, which has been horrific this season.
Below, we will dissect the matchup, previewing how we think things will play out, and give out our Best Bet. Make sure you are following BeforeYouBet, as we will have dedicated Match Previews for all Prime-Time NFL games this season, as well as a preview of the main slate on Monday’s. All for free!
NFL Round 10 Preview & Betting Tips
Carolina Panthers at Chicago Bears
Soldier Field, Friday 10th November, 12:15pm (AEDT)
Last Week
The Bears were involved in a very weird matchup last week, as they travelled to New Orleans to take on the Saints. The Bears looked solid offensively in the first quarter and a bit, with Tyson Bagent leading three solid drives which ended in two touchdowns and an interception. The Bears ended up giving the ball away on 5 occasions, and still the Saints couldn’t put them away. The Bears’ offense was far more efficient than the Saints, however the 5 turnovers obviously were too much to overcome. The Bears’ defence has improved, and they should be able to shut down the Panthers lacklustre offense this week.
Speaking of the Panthers, they came into week 9 full of confidence, after winning their first game of the season in week 8 over the Texans. It didn’t last, as the Panthers offense could get nothing going, with Bryce Young throwing 3 interceptions (including two pick 6’s) which was too much for their defence to handle. This Panthers franchise is in a shambles, and after watching CJ Stroud’s performance last week, there could be a lot of soul searching for years to come for everyone involved in this organisation.
Injury Report
Chicago Bears
Khari Blasingame (RB) – OUT
Terell Smith (DB) – OUT
Tremaine Edmunds (MLB) – OUT
Nate Davis (OL) – OUT
Justin Fields (QB) – Doubtful
Carolina Panthers
Stephen Sullivan / Ian Thomas / Giovanni Ricci (TE) – OUT
Brian Burns / Justin Houston / Yetur Gross-Matos (OLB) – OUT
CJ Henderson / Jaycee Horn (CB) – OUT
Laviska Shenault Jr (WR) – OUT
Chandler Wooten / Luiji Vilain / Shaq Thompson (LB) – OUT
Jeremy Chinn (SAF) – OUT
DJ Chark (WR) – Doubtful
Vonn Bell / Xavier Woods (SAF) – Questionable
Match Preview
The Panthers and Bears haven’t met in a regular season matchup since 2020, a game the Bears were able to win 23-16. The Panthers have never beaten the Bears in Chicago in a regular season game, with their only win there in the 2006 NFC Divisional Round, with the Panthers winning 29-21.
The lookahead for this matchup listed the Bears as short 1.5-point favourites, however after the Panthers’ put up their poor effort on Sunday, it re-opened at Bears -2.5. News quickly came out that Justin Fields was likely to return this week, with the number pushing out to Bears -3.5/4. There was some push and pull here, before this morning Bears Head Coach Matt Eberflus decided to muddy the waters further, stating during his press conference that Fields is “doubtful,” “not playing,” and “a 51% chance”, all in the same interview. Make of that what you will. But for now, it seems as though rookie Tyson Bagent will start his 4th straight game. With Bagent, I make the Bears a 3-point favourite, which it looks like they are moving towards.
The total was 41.5 on the lookahead, before re-opening at 40.5. This has been bet down to 38.5, and it’s easy to make a case for the under here, given the crazy number of unders games this season, particularly in prime time. However, both these teams have leaked points this season, and it’s probably got just as much to do with the offense, as it does the defence. The Bears offense has the most turnovers this season with 18, making things difficult for their defence.
All this is to say I’m at a loss with these two teams. The Bears as more than a field goal favourite seems a bit much, so whilst there are still the odd Panthers +3.5 on the board, I’ll have to take them at a small outlay.
Carolina Panthers +3.5
$1.92 (1.5 Units)
