It didn’t take long for former Chicago head coach Matt Nagy to return to Soldier Field, as he’s back on the opposing sidelines for the NFL preseason Chiefs at Bears betting matchup as the senior assistant and QB coach for Kansas City. Nagy is expected to hear a chorus of boos as he takes the field on Saturday afternoon, but does that give any extra motivation for either team in the preseason opener?
The Chiefs are a -2 point road favorite in this contest, which seems weird since it would be a shocker to see Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce, and other K.C. veterans who have been in Andy Reid’s system for years. Then again the Chiefs did go 3-0 last season so they obviously value the exhibition somewhat.
Mahomes May Play
Perhaps we do see Mahomes for a bit in the NFL preseason Chiefs at Bears betting matchup, as he told reporters he likes to get in and “get hit just like one time.” The QB also has some new targets to get live reps with as JuJu Smith-Schuster and Marquez Valdes-Scantling will try to replace Tyreek Hill.
Mahomes won’t play much though, meaning Chad Henne will get a majority of the first quarter. After that the Chiefs have some young signal callers to evaluate, as Shane Beuchele enters his second year in the pros and the team also signed Dustin Crum from Kent State as an undrafted free agent this offseason.
Whoever goes under center for the Chiefs they will have an explosive weapon to get the ball to as WR Skyy Moore has reportedly been playing everywhere in camp. We likely won’t see much of RBs Clyde Edwards-Helaire or Jerick McKinnon though as they have been injury prone.
Bears Need Reps
Chicago has had a lot of turnover in the offseason as they’ve moved on from Nagy and GM Ryan Pace to Matt Eberflus and Ryan Poles. Eberflus helped the Colts go from the #30 scoring defense to #10 in his first season, and he hired former Green Bay Packers QB coach Luke Getsy as his offensive coordinator.
Chicago QB Justin Fields has to learn his second offense in as many seasons in the NFL, so he’ll likely get 10-15 plays or more on Saturday. Fields started 10 games in 2021, but completed less than 60% of his passes while throwing 7 TDs and 10 INTs.
One of the reasons the Bears are home underdogs in the preseason opener is because a roster that didn’t look that talented to begin with is also banged up. Fields won’t have WRs N’Keal Harry, rookie Velus Jones, or Cole Kmet to throw the ball to and also will be without RB David Montgomery. Trevor Siemian and Nathan Peterman are Chicago’s backup QBs, both with starting NFL experience.
Free NFL Preseason Chiefs at Bears Betting Pick
The Chiefs are a somewhat surprising favorite in this spot, and the value seems to be on the Bears who want a win in coach Matt Eberflus’ NFL debut. Chicago also has two backup QBs with plenty of NFL experience while the Chiefs will likely be evaluating some younger signal callers.
Free Pick: Bears +2
