Sean Green summed up his pick in one sentence: a backup quarterback as a road division favorite is scary, but the Bears can run the ball and the Packers can’t. Bears vs Packers kicks off Sunday, October 11 at 1:00 PM ET in Green Bay, WI, and the Bears were 2.5-point favorites with a total of 45.5 when the guys taped on October 7. Ryan Kramer took the other side on the NFL Picks Week 5 episode.
Bears vs Packers Odds
The Bears were 2.5-point road favorites over the Packers, with a total of 45.5, when the guys taped on October 7.
Our Picks
- Ryan Kramer (@KramerCentric): Packers +2.5
- Sean Green (@SeanTGreen): Bears -2.5
The conversation started in the trenches. Ryan pointed out that the Packers have been terrible at stopping the run, and Sean flagged the Bears offensive line as one of the biggest mismatches in the show’s Trench Report. His logic is that even if the backup quarterback makes a couple of mistakes, Chicago can keep pounding the rock and Green Bay may never get off the field.
Ryan agreed the Bears offense is the glaring mismatch, backup or not, but he isn’t sold on the quarterback. In his read of the Jets game there were some really bad throws, and a few penalties wiped out what would have been interceptions.
Sean then argued Green Bay’s side better than anyone: a home rivalry game, an opposing head coach talking plenty, and a chance for the Packers to rally and turn the season around. He still came back to Chicago. The Bears’ defense looked horrible in Week 1 and very good since, it has a knack for turnovers, and he thinks anyone who passes on the Bears may feel dumb watching them run it over and over. He did note the Packers are 9-6 ATS as a home dog since 2007.
Ryan’s question was whether the spread made sense at all with a backup starting for Chicago. He called it a bigger adjustment than the one on Eagles-Jaguars, noted the Bears are one of the more public sides they’ve seen, and took Green Bay. He doesn’t like the Packers. He’ll happily get cute with Jordan Love anyway, because if it burns him he can curse Love and be done with them for the season.
Hear the full breakdown on the NFL Picks Week 5 episode, or listen on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Watch every game on YouTube, and download the SGPN app at sg.pn/links. See all our NFL Picks.
