This week’s Sunday Night Football matchup features 2023 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year C.J. Stroud against the betting favorite to win that award this season, Bears QB Caleb Williams. Both the Texans and the Bears won tight Week 1 games, but Williams did not look nearly as sharp in his debut as Stroud looked at the start of his record-setting rookie campaign.
The 2024 No. 1 overall draft pick completed less than 50% of his passes for under 100 yards, but the Bears’ defense and special teams bailed him out with two touchdowns. That defense will face a much stiffer test against Stroud’s high-powered offense, while Williams will look to put together a much better performance in front of a primetime audience.
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How to bet on Bears vs. Texans
After being a surprise division winner and winning a playoff game last year, the Texans have been drawing plenty of attention from the betting community. They have been the hottest team in the DraftKings Super Bowl winner futures market since the start of the season. The Texans’ success with a sensational young QB might be part of why the Bears have also been a popular futures bet so far this season. With all the attention these teams are garnering, expect to see plenty more betting action on this Sunday Night Football matchup.
Comparing the best sportsbooks
Before placing any bets on Bears vs. Texans, let’s discuss the importance of comparing betting odds and lines at different sportsbooks. Shopping around for the best odds is an important sports betting best practice that can help you maximize your chances of winning and earning the highest profits when you win.
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We can better understand that by looking at the current betting lines and associated odds for Bears vs. Texans at some of the top sportsbooks:
Market
FanDuel
DraftKings
BetMGM
Caesars
Bears spread
+6.5 (-110)
+6.5 (-105)
+6.5 (-110)
+6.5 (-110)
Texans spread
-6.5 (-110)
-6.5 (-115)
-6.5 (-110)
-6.5 (-110)
Bears moneyline
+240
+240
+225
+240
Texans moneyline
-295
-298
-275
-305
Over
Over 45.5 (-115)
Over 45.5 (-108)
Over 45.5 (-110)
Over 45.5 (-110)
Under
Under 45.5 (-105)
Under 45.5 (-112)
Under 45.5 (-110)
Under 45.5 (-110)
*betting odds current at the time of publishing but subject to change
Although the betting line for the point spread and the total (or Over/Under) is identical across these four sportsbooks, there is a small difference in the betting odds associated with these lines. For example, if you want to bet on the Bears against the spread, then you will get better odds at DraftKings (-105) than everywhere else (-110). Similarly, if you want to bet the Under, then FanDuel has the best odds (-105) compared to the rest of these options (-110 or -112). While the difference in these odds won’t make or break a winning bet, they will help you maximize your profits if you win.
Comparing the best sportsbook promos
If you want to get the best odds on your Sunday Night Football bets, then you may need to sign up for a new sportsbook account. Whenever you sign up for a sportsbook, you should always claim the sportsbook’s new customer promotion. Every sportsbook offers some sort of bonus to new customers to encourage them to sign up and place their first bets. Here is a summary of the current welcome bonuses at four of the best online sportsbooks:
Sportsbook
Current Welcome Offer
FanDuel
Bet $5, get $200 in bonus bets, plus three weeks of NFL Sunday Ticket
DraftKings
Bet $5, get $250 in bonus bets, plus one month of NFL+ premium
BetMGM
Get up to $1,500 back as bonus bets if your first real-money bet loses
Caesars
Get up to $1,000 back as a bonus bet if your first real-money bet loses
FanDuel and DraftKings are offering “Bet and Get” promotions, where customers just need to place a bet of at least $5 to get a guaranteed reward in the form of bonus bets. You can use bonus bets to place bets and you get the profits if you win.
BetMGM and Caesars also offer bonus bets as the reward for their welcome offers, but their “First Bet Insurance” promotions work a bit differently. As the name implies, the reward for this promotion is essentially like insurance in case you lose your first bet. Whatever amount you lose (up to the limit) will be returned to you as bonus bets, so you can try again with a bet (or bets) of the same amount.
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For a limited time, FanDuel and DraftKings are also offering free trials of two popular NFL streaming services as an additional perk with their sign-up bonuses. These extra benefits are only offered a few times a year, so when they are available it’s a great time to sign up.
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Betting insights on Bears vs. Texans
The Texans’ big high-profile offseason acquisition was wide receiver Stefon Diggs, but the new player who made the biggest impact in Week 1 was free agent running back Joe Mixon, who carried 30 times for a league-high 159 yards. The addition of Mixon gives offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik the balance he wants in his offense and takes some pressure off of Stroud. With the talented trio of Diggs, Nico Collins, and Tank Dell catching passes, the Texans’ offense will be difficult for the Bears to stop. That will be the key matchup in this game. The Bears’ offense gets most of the attention because of Caleb Williams and several new playmakers like Keenan Allen, Rome Odunze (whose game status is uncertain at the time of publication), and D’Andre Swift. But the defense is the strength of this team. Over the second half of last season (weeks 10-18), Chicago ranked 3rd in defensive EPA. And as mentioned above, the defense was the key to their comeback victory in Week 1. If they have any chance to keep up with the heavily favored Texans in primetime, the defense will need to step up again.
