Bears vs. Saints Wild Card Betting Preview: Best Odds and Prop Bets

• The New Orleans Saints are -500 favorites to beat the Chicago Bears.
• Short odds are on the Chicago Bears scoring exactly one touchdown.
• The Chicago Bears may be playing without star rookie WR Darnell Mooney and lead tackler Roquan Smith.

NEW ORLEANS – A major Wild Card Weekend matchup between the New Orleans Saints and the Chicago Bears has sports bettors putting action on every facet of the matchup.

Sports bettors are leaning in favor of the Saints to take the win, as in addition to New Orleans having home-field advantage, the Bears could be playing without key guys.

Those betting on the NFL will have plenty of opportunities as prop bets for this game are also attracting sports bettors.

Wildcard Schedule Update: The #Saints will host the Bears this Sunday (Jan. 10) at 3:40 pm CT on CBS! #CHivsNO pic.twitter.com/nh28Xluewr

— New Orleans Saints (@Saints) January 4, 2021

The Saints finished the regular season with a 12-4 record and were number one in the NFC South. In addition, future hall of fame QB Drew Brees was able to rest after suffering major injuries earlier in the season.

It is understandable why sports bettors are taking action on the Saints to beat a Chicago team who has struggled all season, finishing with an 8-8 record to squeeze into the Wild Card game.

In addition, Chicago could be playing without key players in LB Roquan Smith and rookie WR Darnell Mooney who are listed as questionable for the game.

The loss of Smith, in particular, will hurt the Bears, as the lead tackler is coming off of a career-high 139 tackle season and is second in the league. Smith is currently out with toe and glute injuries leaving the team with a big hole on defense should he be unable to play.

“There’s complete domination in the way (Smith's) playing,” said Matt Nagy, head coach of the Chicago Bears. “I mean, he’s playing on another level. And so, when you lose that, that’s a part of football. And I think whoever the next guy up that has to step up and go in there and do their thing.”

Underdog bettors may still want to jump on the +350 odds for Chicago, as it has not been fully announced whether Smith will be out or not and the LB could very well play in the big matchup and help pull the upset.

In addition to the main betting line, sports bettors are also wagering on game props. There is action being put on how the first score of the game will go.

Both the Saints scoring a field goal or a passing TD have the shortest odds as sports bettors are expecting early offense from New Orleans.

In addition, the Passing TD may be the safest wager as QB Drew Brees may be extra motivated as this could be his last game should the Saints lose. Rumors have been circulating all year for if Brees will retire or not at the end of the season.

“When you have a quarterback that’s — I don’t like to say at his age, because that doesn’t sound right, but it’s true — it’s been year to year for him for a while,” said Mickey Loomis, Saints General Manager. “It’s up to him each year to determine: ‘Do I want to play next year or not?’ We give him his space, we give him time at the end of the season to determine that, and we’ll see what happens next year. I’m not counting him out. It’s going to be entirely up to him.”

Longshot bettors, however, may want to take the risk and look at the Bears -450 odds to score a field goal first. Should Chicago have possession first, it is entirely possible for the team to get within field goal range for an early three points.

The Saints' defense should make it hard for the Bears to get a passing TD so early in the game, but any given Sunday an underdog team could catch fire and surprise an established defense.

Regardless of which way the game goes, many sports bettors wagering at USA online sportsbooks will be going home big winners for Wild Card Weekend.