On this week’s edition of Sunday Night Football, the Chicago Bears are rolling into Los Angeles for a date with the reeling Chargers. Los Angeles is in desperate need of a win to probably save its season, while the Bears are playing with house money with a backup quarterback under center. So, who will come out on top?
I have an idea of how the proceedings might go, and I’ve used it to create my Same Game Parlay for Sunday Night Football at 6/1 odds. Let’s get into it.
Chicago Bears +8.5 (-110) vs Los Angeles Chargers
Look, it’s another ugly NFL primetime game! This time, we’ve got the 2-5 Bears, led by unheralded backup Tyson Bagent at quarterback, against the 2-4 Chargers, who have drastically underperformed this season. Los Angeles coach Brandon Staley is probably coaching for his job this week, while I'm not entirely sure what the Bears are playing for at this point. I've never been a fan of Staley as a head coach, and I like what I saw from Bagent last week. He might not have the college pedigree that most NFL quarterbacks have, but he's got some moxie and the team seems to be responding to him to this point.
On the other side, Justin Herbert is playing with an injury to his index finger on his left hand, and it’s showed. A Chargers offense that was once atop the NFL has now failed to break 20 points over the last 2 weeks. The Chargers are clearly the more desperate and talented team, and they're at home, so they have every right to be installed as the favorite. But this Bears team is plucky and I think Bagent and his offense will find enough room against the Chargers defense to keep this game within a score, much like the Raiders did with backup rookie quarterback Aidan O'Connell on October 1. Let’s look for a close game in Los Angeles.