On the road in the first game of the Jordan Love era, the Green Bay Packers are now the slightest of betting underdogs to the Chicago Bears in Week 1 of the 2023 season, which opens Sunday for both teams at Soldier Field.
Per Bet365, the betting line as of Tuesday is Packers +1.0 (or 1-point underdogs), with an over/under of 43.0 points.
Buy Packers TicketsDating back to May, the Packers have been as much as 2.5-point underdogs for Week 1 at various sportsbooks. Now, betting lines see this rivalry game as a toss up.
The Bears are coming off a season in which they finished with the worst record in the NFL, while the Packers missed the playoffs and are now transitioning at quarterback to Love, a first-year starter wtih 83 career regular season passes.
Can the Bears turn the tide in the rivalry, or will the Packers reassert their dominance with a new quarterback?
The Matt LaFleur-Aaron Rodgers era was a kind one to the Packers, both straight up and against the spread. The Packers were 8-0 against the Bears both in terms of wins-losses and against the spread over the last four seasons. LaFleur was hired in 2019 and has never lost to the Bears.
Another factor to consider: the Packers have lost 38-3 and 23-7 in Week 1 over the last two seasons. Both blowout losses came on the road. LaFleur played more players during the preseason in an attempt to ward off a poor season-opening performance and give his young football team more live-game reps.
Week 1 for the Packers and Bears kicks off Sunday at 3:25 p.m. CT.
