The Bengals and Bears will do battle in Chicago in Week 2 on Sunday. Cincinnati was able to pull off an impressive overtime win over the Minnesota Vikings in the opener, with quarterback Joe Burrow playing well as he made his return from an ACL tear that cut his rookie campaign short. Meanwhile, the Bears were in primetime to begin their year but fell to Matthew Stafford and the Los Angeles Rams. Despite the loss, however, Chicago did get a taste of what their future may be with rookie Justin Fields seeing some playing time and rushing for a score.
As both of these clubs continue to figure out their identity for the 2021 season, we'll look to make some money off this head-to-head. Below, you can find our betting preview of this matchup, which includes a look at the line movements throughout the week, our game predictions and a handful of player props that have our attention.
All NFL odds via Caesars Sportsbook.
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How to watch
Date: Sunday, Sept. 19 | Time: 1 p.m. ET
Location: Soldier Field (Chicago, IL)
TV: FOX | Stream: fuboTV (try for free)
Follow: CBS Sports App
Line movement
Chicago opened as a three-point favorite, but the Bengals' win over the Vikings seems to have carried a lot of weight among the public. This number has since dipped below the field-goal threshold to Bears -2.5.
The pick: Chicago -2.5. While there may be confidence building with Cincinnati, I think folks are sleeping on the Bears here a little bit. While they came out on the losing end of that matchup, they didn't play terribly. And that was against a Rams team that many believe could be the class of the NFC. Going from that to the Bengals will be a big drop in overall team talent and should benefit Chicago. Matt Nagy's club is also 7-3-1 ATS in their last 11 home games against a team with a winning record.
Key trend: Bengals are 1-4 ATS in their last five games following a straight-up win.
Over/Under total
The total opened at 45.5 but quickly bumped down to 45 before holding firm throughout the week.
The pick: Under 45 (-110). With Andy Dalton still under center and Joe Burrow working his way back to full strength, I do think the scoring in this game has a low ceiling. Both of these teams also boast star runnings backs -- Joe Mixon for Cincinnati and David Montgomery for Chicago -- and could look to run the offense through them, limiting scoring opportunities. The Under is 4-1 in Chicago's last five games as a home favorite. Meanwhile, the Under is 12-5-2 in the Bengals' last 19 road games.
Key trend: Under is 14-5 in Chicago's last 19 home games.
Player props to consider
Damien Williams receptions: Over 2.5 (+115). Williams saw five targets in the opener, and while Chicago may not be playing from behind like last week, the veteran back seemingly has the Tarik Cohen role on passing downs.
David Montgomery rushing yards: Over 64.5 (-115). Montgomery was extremely impressive against the Rams' front in Week 1 and should have an easier time against the Bengals' run defense. Montgomery also went over this total in eight of the 15 regular season games he played in 2020.
Tyler Boyd receiving yards: Over 50.5 (-115). Boyd is Cincinnati's primary slot receiver, which is a position that gave the Bears defense fits last week with Cooper Kupp totaling 108 yards on 10 targets. That should make for a nice bounce-back spot for Boyd, who was quiet in Week 1.
