PointsBet Illinois Odds Booster: Chicago Bears +86 Point Spread Thursday Night vs. Tampa Bay
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The Tampa Bay Buccaneers head to Chicago to face the Bears in a Thursday night showdown. As of writing this, the Buccaneers are a 5.5-point favorite for the NFL‘s weekday game. However, Illinois PointsBet customers can bet the Bears at +86 against Tampa Bay, which is the year the Bears won their last Super Bowl.
The On the House Booster is for Illinois customers only. When you log into PointsBet, you will see the promotion right on the main page, and you can bet the Bears at +86 right from the promo page. There is a $25 max bet on the Bears at +86, but this is free money, people! All Illinois PointsBet customers should be on this by Thursday night!
PointsBet On the House Booster: Chicago Bears +86 vs. Tampa Bay
Where: Illinois
Who Is It For? All PointsBet customers
Requirements: $25 max bet
Buccaneers (-5.5) @ Bears O/U 44
The Bears and Buccaneers both come into Thursday night with 3-1 records and hoping to continue with the early season success. The Bears have a tough challenge stopping the Buccaneers offense, which is average 30 points per game this season. Chicago is holding offenses to just over 20 points per game.
Tampa Bay has performed a bit worse when facing better defenses in the league. The Saints and Broncos both rank in the top-12 in defensive efficiency and hold the Buccs to under 30 points per game. The Bears currently are the seventh most efficient defense, according to Football Outsiders. Mike Evans, Leonard Fournette, Chris Godwin, O.J. Howard, and LeSean McCoy did not practice on Tuesday while Gronk was limited in practice.
Brady has had lesser skilled guys playing in New England, so there is a chance nothing will change. However, seeing this amount of offensive skilled players not practicing this week is concerning. Tampa Bay currently has the seventh most efficient offense in the NFL.
The Bears were exposed last week against the Colts after their offense scored three points through the first three quarters. According to Football Outsiders, the Colts currently have the best defense in the NFL. The second-best defense is the Buccaneers defense.
Nick Foles did not play his best game and is now 0-5 in the regular season as a start since winning Super Bowl MVP in 2018.
Chicago does not have the ability to look at the mistakes they made against the Colts due to the short turnaround. Fortunately, the Bears are at home Thursday night, which has historically given an edge to the team hosting a weeknight game.
However, an offense averaging 5.2 yards per play will have to find success against a defense holding opponents to 5.1 yards per play. Even if Trubisky found his way back into the lineup this week, there is not much hope for the Chicago offense.
Thursday Night Bet
Under 44
Due to the number of injuries Tampa Bay has on offense this week, it is hard to see a lot of points being put up against two of the best defenses in the NFL. The Buccaneers have been able to move the football, but Chicago’s best offensive performances were against the Falcons and Lions.
Tampa Bay’s defense is a step behind the Indianapolis’, and Chicago had no answer at home on Sunday. Unless the Bears find the benefit in the short week, I don’t see how the Bears score 17 points Thursday night.
Even though Tampa Bay has Brady under center, the amount of offensive players on the injured list is concerning. It is going to be harder to move the football against the Bears defense with multiple players out.
