Bears open as touchdown underdog against Patriots ahead of Monday Night Football

The Chicago Bears will have plenty of time to prepare for their next matchup, but they will still be an underdog the next time they take the field.

Caesars Sportsbook, the official odds partner of Bet Chicago Sports, released betting odds for the entire Week 7 slate on Sunday. The Bears opened as a 7.5-point underdog in their road meeting with the New England Patriots on Monday Night Football.

The Bears (2-4) enter this primetime affair on a three-game losing skid, including a 12-7 loss to the Washington Commanders on Thursday Night Football in Week 6.

It will be 11 days between games for the Bears, who have a lot of issues to fix on both sides of the ball. Our Bears reporter, Sean Hammond, wrote that head coach Matt Eberflus was going to use the mini-bye as an opportunity to take a closer look at things.

“We’re spending time during this mini-bye to evaluate each guy,” Eberflus told reporters during his media availability on Friday. “We come up with three things they’re doing well right now and three things they need to improve on. And the plan for each guy, fundamentally, to improve on that. That’s a very important piece for us to grow as a football team.”

If the Bears are able to use this break as a chance to fix some issues, it could make Monday Night Football a good opportunity to take the points with the visitors. The Bears are 2-1 against the spread this season when getting at least six points.

The Bears were a touchdown underdog in Week 1 before recording an outright upset over the San Francisco 49ers. They also covered a 7.5-point spread in a 29-22 loss to the Minnesota Vikings in Week 5. The Bears were getting double-digit points against the Packers in Week 2, which resulted in a 27-10 defeat in Week 2.

Yet the Patriots enter this matchup with some momentum, having won back-to-back games against the Detroit Lions and the Cleveland Browns while playing with a backup quarterback. They pitched a shutout in a 29-0 win over the Lions, following that up with a 38-15 victory over the Browns on Sunday.

Running back Rhamondre Stevenson has carried the ball 44 times over the last two games, turning that into 237 yards and two scores over that span. Stevenson now faces a Bears defense that has surrendered 978 yards on the ground through six games.

Fans and bettors will want to monitor the status of Patriots quarterback Mac Jones ahead of this game. Jones, who was selected in the same draft class as Justin Fields, has missed the last three games due to an ankle injury.

As for the total, the opening mark is set at 39 points for this Monday Night Football matchup. That is the lowest total on the slate, besting the next-lowest over/under by two full points as the Bucs-Panthers matchup has a total of 41.

It marks the second week in a row that the Bears have the lowest total on the slate. Their TNF tilt with the Commanders had an over/under of 38 after opening at 40. The under has hit in four of the first six Bears’ games to start the season.

We will have betting analysis on this matchup all week, but you can bet at the opening prices by signing up with Caesars Sportsbook today.

Chicago Bears at New England Patriots

Spread: Patriots -7.5

Moneyline: Bears +270/Patriots -345

Total: 39