Caleb Wilfinger
Show Bio
On this week’s edition of Sunday Night Football, the Chicago Bears are rolling into Los Angeles for a date with the reeling Chargers. Los Angeles is in desperate need of a win to probably save its season, while the Bears are playing with house money with a backup quarterback under center. So, who will come out on top?
I have an idea of how the proceedings might go, and I’ve used it to create my Same Game Parlay for Sunday Night Football at 6/1 odds. You can also read all our NFL Week 8 predictions but now let’s get into it.
Bears +8.5 (-110)
Over 46.5 (-110)
Austin Ekeler 40+ receiving yards (+118)
Same Game Parlay Odds: +600
Chicago Bears +8.5 (-110) vs Los Angeles Chargers
Look, it’s another ugly NFL primetime game! This time, we’ve got the 2-5 Bears, led by unheralded backup Tyson Bagent at quarterback, against the 2-4 Chargers, who have drastically underperformed this season. Los Angeles coach Brandon Staley is probably coaching for his job this week, while I’m not entirely sure what the Bears are playing for at this point. I’ve never been a fan of Staley as a head coach, and I like what I saw from Bagent last week. He might not have the college pedigree that most NFL quarterbacks have, but he’s got some moxie and the team seems to be responding to him to this point.
On the other side, Justin Herbert is playing with an injury to his index finger on his left hand, and it has showed. A Chargers offense that was once atop the NFL has now failed to break 20 points over the last 2 weeks. The Chargers are clearly the more desperate and talented team, and they’re at home, so they have every right to be installed as the favorite. But this Bears team is plucky and I think Bagent and his offense will find enough room against the Chargers defense to keep this game within a score, much like the Raiders did with backup rookie quarterback Aidan O’Connell on October 1. Let’s look for a close game in Los Angeles.
Check out our Chicago Bears vs Los Angeles Chargers predictions
Over 46.5 (-110)
This is definitely a spot for the Chargers offense to recalibrate and get back to what it looked like the early on in the season. The Bears’ defense is getting healthier, but the reality is that they’re just not very good on that side of the ball so Justin Herbert and the Chargers should feel like they have just the antidote for their offensive struggles. I understand that it’s hard to trust the Chargers given how the last few weeks have gone, but don’t be fooled by this Bears defense — they’re not nearly as stringent as they seem.
Conversely, I’m a believer that the Bears have enough to score some points in this one. Bagent doesn’t seem to be fazed by the moment, he does bring some rushing ability into the fold, and there’s some talent on the outside with D.J. Moore and Darnell Mooney.
Austin Ekeler 40+ receiving yards (+118)
As my colleague Prop Holiday explained in his Bears vs Chargers player props, this should be a very favorable matchup for Austin Ekeler. The Chargers running back isn’t know for running between the tackles, but he is an elite pass-catcher out of the backfield. Outside of last week’s game against the Chiefs, Ekeler has hit this number easily in 2 of his 3 games played this season. Ekeler is a reliable option, posting a career average of 8.9 yards per reception from a consistent 4 receptions per game.
More importantly, this offense does not need to get cute this Sunday, as falling to 2-5 would be disastrous. As it so happens, getting Ekeler involved early will be key to them getting things moving on offense. At plus-money, I’ll gladly back Ekeler in this spot.
