Docs Website

52 Years Strong! A Trusted Leader In Sports Picks, Best Bets and Predictions Since 1971.

Main Menu

2023 Chicago Bears Predictions with Season Win Total Odds

by Robert Ferringo - 8/8/2023

Chicago Bears predictions Justin Fields

Full disclosure: I have been a Chicago Bears fan since I was six years old.

That doesn’t cloud my judgment, though. Like any True Fan, I hate my team more than even our most vicious rivals could.

Case in point: last year my 8-Unit NFL Futures Play was on Chicago ‘under’ 6.5 wins. They won thrice.

The Bears are one of the flagship franchises of American professional football. They have won more games and more overall championships than anyone else. They have also been irrelevant on the national stage for most of the last three decades.

The fact that this is the most excited that I have been for a Bears season in nearly 20 years says something.

Chicago will be one of the NFL’s most improved teams. They had the league’s worst record in 2022. Now they have the skeleton of a potential playoff team in the watered-down NFC.

Doc’s Sports offers NFL expert picks for every game on our NFL predictions page.

CHICAGO BEARS 2023 OFFENSE

For a one-month stretch of last season the Bears had one of the best offenses in football. They averaged 30 points per game over a five-game spell and showed flashes of what could be a lethal unit this fall.

They ended the season No. 23 in scoring and No. 28 in total offense. They should launch past both rankings this fall.

Chicago led the league in rushing and were the only team to top the 3,000-yard mark. They averaged a stout 5.4 rushing yards per carry thanks in part to 1,143 rushing yards from quarterback Justin Fields, who averaged 7.1 yards per attempt.

Fields also made strides as a passer. And the offseason additions of D.J. Moore and Robert Tonyan, a full training camp with trade deadline acquisition Chase Claypool, and a healthy season from Darnell Mooney, could help take the passing game to the next level.

Third-year pro Khalil Herbert is now the unquestioned lead back. Depth behind Herbert is scarce, though, and I’m surprised the Bears didn’t add more talent to this room. If Herbert stays healthy, he will be a 1,300-yard back. If not, the Bears may be in trouble.

The Bears also made a mistake by not doing more to upgrade their offensive line. Nate Davis was a solid free agent signing. And Chicago used its No. 1 pick on tackle Darnell Wright. Their starting five has enormous potential. But the drop-off to the backups is steep, and the Bears should’ve invested more of their cap space into protecting Fields.

CHICAGO BEARS 2023 DEFENSE

Head coach Matt Eberflus was the defensive coordinator in Indianapolis. So it was a little curious to see a group that finished 2021 as the No. 6 total defense plummet to dead-last in points allowed and No. 29 in yards allowed.

One reason the defense cratered was Chicago’s return to a base 4-3 defense. They didn’t have the personnel to fit the scheme.

Another reason was due to the massive roster housecleaning that the front office enacted. Chicago traded away several defensive starters, and they head into 2023 with just two starters and just three of their top 22 players from that 2021 season.

Free agent signings Tremaine Edmunds, T.J. Edwards and Dylan Cole bolster Chicago’s linebacking corps. The Bears have also invested a lot of recent draft capital to build up a young, aggressive secondary.

The weakness on this side of the ball is the defensive line. The Bears were dead last in the league with just 20 sacks last year and had the second-worst rushing defense in football, allowing 157.3 yards per game on the ground.

Chicago made some mid-tier free agent pickups and used a second- and third-round pick to bring in fresh bodies along the line. They lack a true difference maker up front, and this one position group could undo all the progress they’ve made on the rest of the roster.

CHICAGO BEARS 2023 SCHEDULE

Sun, Sep 10     4:25 PM            vs.  Green Bay Packers

Sun, Sep 17     1:00 PM            @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Sun, Sep 24     4:25 PM            @ Kansas City Chiefs

Sun, Oct 1         1:00 PM            vs. Denver Broncos

Thu, Oct 5        8:15 PM            @ Washington Redskins

Sun, Oct 15      1:00 PM            vs. Minnesota Vikings

Sun, Oct 22      1:00 PM            vs. Las Vegas Raiders

Sun, Oct 29      8:20 PM            @ Los Angeles Chargers

Sun, Nov 5       1:00 PM            @ New Orleans Saints

Thu, Nov 9       8:15 PM            vs. Carolina Panthers

Sun, Nov 19     1:00 PM            @ Detroit Lions

Mon, Nov 27   8:15 PM            @ Minnesota Vikings

Sun, Dec 10     1:00 PM            vs. Detroit Lions

Sun, Dec 17     7:00 PM            @ Cleveland Browns

Sun, Dec 24     4:25 PM            vs. Arizona Cardinals

Sun, Dec 31     1:00 PM            vs. Atlanta Falcons

Sun, Jan 7         7:00 PM            @ Green Bay Packers

CHICAGO BEARS 2023 SEASON PICKS AND PREDICTIONS

The Bears entered the offseason with the No. 1 overall pick in the draft, nearly $80 million in salary cap space (by far the most in the league) and a lot of holes on the roster.

General manager Ryan Poles pulled some brilliant maneuvers. Chicago traded down in the draft twice and stockpiled future picks and Moore. They had a solid draft overall. The Edmunds signing gives them a defensive leader. They still have nearly $40 million in cap space, and their long-term commitments are sparse.

However, while Chicago did a lot to upgrade this season, they didn’t do enough. The two biggest areas of need were along the offensive and defensive lines. They should’ve been extremely aggressive signing players along both fronts, building depth and adding high-end players. They didn’t.

Instead, the Bears are hoping that they can develop Pro Bowl-caliber players and difference makers. That’s a big gamble.

Some might also see their lack of long-term contract commitments as a positive because they have flexibility over the next few years. However, you can’t win anything in the NFL if you don’t set a foundation at some point.

I think Chicago could field a Top 10 or Top 12 offense this season. The defense is also better. I expect this team to compete in a wide-open NFC North, and it they should be in the playoff hunt deep into December.

The arrow is pointed up. If they had signed one or two more offensive linemen and two or three more starting-caliber defensive linemen – not stars, but just proven veteran players – then this team would be a real threat in the NFC.

They aren’t there yet. But I love ‘over’ 7.5 wins with this group. They should go at least .500 in their division. They get winnable games against Carolina, Las Vegas and Arizona all at home. They also face a weakened Tampa Bay team early in the season before they figure out their quarterback situation.

I think anything less than nine wins would be a disappointment for this up-and-coming squad.

Robert Ferringo has been the top football handicapper in the country the past 13 years, earning nearly $40,000 in total football profit (average profit: +$3,800) between 2010-2019 alone. He has posted 9 of 13 winning seasons (including five of seven winning years) and produced an amazing 64 of 100 winning football months over the past 16 years. Robert has hit at nearly 60 percent winners over his last 1,000 totals picks and has posted 14 of 17 winning Super Bowls. Robert is looking for another winning football year and wants more profit this fall. SIGN UP HERE TODAY AND TAKE ADVANTAGE OF OUR 3-FOR-1 FOOTBALL SPECIALS!

Get NFL picks on every single game, or if you want our very best bet premium picks by the experts, sign up for your free $60 account with a guarantee.

 

Most Recent NFL Handicapping

One E-mail A Week Is All You Need!
Our weekly newsletter is loaded with exclusive free picks,insight and advice from our expert handicappers