Bears vs Buccaneers odds, picks and predictions: NFL Week 2 preview

Bears vs Buccaneers Odds

Bears vs Buccaneers odds show Tampa Bay as a 2.5-point favorite at basically every sportsbook in this Week 2 NFL game.

The Bears suffered a tough divisional loss to start the season, largely disappointing against Jordan Love and the Packers. On the other hand, the Buccaneers pulled off one of the biggest upsets of Week 1 with a victory over the Vikings.

Let’s preview this Week 2 NFL game between Chicago and Tampa Bay and then make a choice between the Bears and Buccaneers.

The Bucs had a big win by defeating the Vikings to start the season.

Baker Mayfield looked solid, improving noticeably in the second half, but his departure was unsurprising in my opinion. Mayfield expressed after the game that the Vikings were taking a lot of their defensive decisions away from him and that’s why he looked much better in the second half. That’s not something Tampa Bay will be able to count on week in and week out.

Tampa was arguably the luckiest team in Week 1. The Vikings moved the ball effortlessly; They just couldn’t stop turning the ball over. The Bucs won the turnover battle 3-0, which is another thing you can’t count on. On the contrary, it’s a good time to fade a team that got all the rebounds the week before.

On the other hand, it was a deflating effort by the Bears in their first opportunity against the Packers in the post-Aaron Rodgers era. His defense couldn’t hold up in the second half, and offensively, he looked a lot like 2022 Bears Justin Fields, playing hero to keep them in the game.

The Bucs are a downgrade from both a playmaking and QB perspective for the Packers. Therefore, I expect the Bears defense to be more effective against Mayfield. The Bears should be able to put pressure on Mayfield that causes him to turn the ball over.

For the Bears offense, I expect a better performance from Fields. The big offseason acquisition for the Bears was bringing in DJ Moore to help lighten Fields’ load. He wasn’t a huge factor against the Packers, but you can chalk it up to facing one of the best CBs in the league: Jaire Alexander.

Against the Bucs, Moore should be able to create more space and make a couple of big plays. This success through the air will only open things up more for Fields to use his legs and make plays the way he does best.

When there is no tangible threat on the field, it is easy for opposing defenses to spy on Fields and make life difficult for him. The more success he has pitching, the more the Bucs will have to regress.

Overall, everything about this matchup points to the Bears.

Week 2 in the NFL is all about betting against overreactions. The Bucs pulled out a win against a Vikings team that turned the ball over three times and was generally destined for regression after a fortunate 2022 season. On the other hand, the Bears had a pretty lackluster performance in an important spot.

Missing Mayfield when his team is a favorite has been a profitable venture for bettors. Mayfield is 11-23-1 (32.4%) as a career favorite.

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