The early betting line for the Bears’ Week 1 trip to Charlotte says plenty about where this team stands now.
ESPN’s Week 1 odds from DraftKings have Chicago as a slight favorite over Carolina, with the Bears projected to win by fewer than three points. That number can move before kickoff, of course, but it still offers a clear snapshot: the Bears are no longer being treated like a team that needs to prove it belongs on the same field.
That is a noticeable shift from where things stood a year ago.
Chicago opened last season at home against Minnesota in Ben Johnson’s first game as head coach, and the Bears looked in control for most of the day. They carried a 17-6 lead into the fourth quarter before Minnesota ripped off 21 straight points and escaped with a 27-24 win. It was a gut punch for Bears fans and an early jolt to the optimism around Johnson’s arrival.
The very next week brought an even rougher result, a blowout loss to Detroit. But the season didn’t stop there. Chicago went on to win the NFC North and pushed into the playoffs, a reminder that one ugly opening can be only a snapshot, not the full story.
Now the Bears are back at square one, only with a different kind of energy around them. The opener in Carolina is a road test against a Panthers team that won the NFC South last year, so it is not the sort of soft landing Chicago has been handed in past seasons. Still, there is a sense that the Bears are better equipped for it this time around.
Dennis Allen’s experience with Dave Canales and the Panthers could matter, and Chicago enters Week 1 after a full season of learning what Johnson’s system can become. Last year was about figuring things out. This year feels like a team that has already taken that first step and is trying to keep moving forward.
Being a slight favorite does not guarantee anything. It just shows how much the perception around the Bears has changed in a short span. Chicago now has to turn that into proof on the field, starting in Charlotte.
In Other News...
Bears Fans Are Mourning A 1985 Champion As More Is Confirmed
The Bears lost one of the central figures from their 1985 championship team when former fullback Matt Suhey was found unresponsive in his Deerfield home and later pronounced dead. The Lake County Coroners Office said there were no suspicious circumstances, and officials indicated the death was expected to be listed as natural causes given Suheys significant medical history.
For Bears fans, Suheys place in franchise lore was already secure. He carved out a successful 10-year NFL career in Chicago and helped define the 1985 seasons run to the title, including scoring the opening touchdown in Super Bowl XX, a moment that remains part of the teams most celebrated memory. [Read more 🡒]
Bears Fans Now Have The Official Word On Matt Suheys Death
Matt Suheys death has now been officially attributed to natural causes, ending the uncertainty that followed news of the former Bears fullback being found unresponsive at his Deerfield, Illinois home. The Lake County Coroners Office said there were no suspicious circumstances, and noted his death was tied to a significant medical history, a sobering update on a player longtime Chicago fans remember from one of the franchises most celebrated eras.
Suhey spent 10 years with the Bears and carved out a reputation as a reliable, hard-nosed presence in the backfield, capped by a career highlight that still resonates at Halas Hall: the opening touchdown in Super Bowl XX. For Bears fans, the official finding brings clarity, but it also closes another chapter on a figure from that championship team whose name still carries weight in Chicagos football history. [Read more 🡒]
Bears Get Needed Week 1 Relief But One Absence Still Looms
Rome Odunze was the one notable absence when the Bears opened their Week 1 preparation for Carolina, sitting out Tuesdays practice because of a lower-body injury. It was the lone blip on an otherwise encouraging injury report, as Chicago got back to work without any fresh issues showing up on the field.
DAndre Swift and Kyle Monangai were both back in action after their recent injury scares, with Swift returning from cramps and Monangai moving on from a hyperextended knee. For a team trying to get through the first week of the season in decent shape, that kind of early stability matters, even if Odunzes status is the one situation still worth monitoring as the opener approaches. [Read more 🡒]