Bears vs. Seahawks Betting Odds – Week 3 NFL
Carrie Stroup here with your Bears vs. Seahawks betting odds for Week 3. Both teams are 0-2 coming into this game. Sportsbook.ag Line: Seattle -15, Total: 43.5
CHICAGO BEARS (0-2) at SEATTLE SEAHAWKS (0-2)
The defending NFC Champion Seahawks look to avoid an 0-3 hole when they entertain the winless Bears in Sunday's home opener.
An 0-2 start to the 2015 campaign was expected for Chicago, but the last time Seattle began 0-3 was back in 2002 when star LB Bobby Wagner was in elementary school, QB Russell Wilson was an awkward 13-year-old and Pete Carroll was entering his second season at USC. But things are looking up for the Seahawks once-vaunted defense that currently ranks 29th in scoring and 21st against the pass, as the holdout of Pro Bowl S Kam Chancellor ended earlier this week. The defensive rankings are at the worst in the Carroll era and the fourth-worst rank in scoring defense is the lowest in franchise history. This is quite a change from the league’s top-ranked unit in each of the previous three seasons.
Seattle gave up more sacks to the Rams in the season opener (6) than they have delivered to opponents in their two games combined (4). Certainly playing against MVP Aaron Rodgers on the road will hurt your defensive stats, and nobody will deny the Rams are a much-improved team who they also had to play away from their beloved 12th man. But teams that start 0-2 make the playoffs only 12% of the time since 1990 and Super Bowl runner-ups haven’t fared much better.
Since 1992 the Bears are 2-1 ATS in Seattle with the last meeting coming in 2009. But when allowing more than 28 points over the past three seasons, Chicago is just 2-15 ATS, including both games in 2015. The Seahawks should be licking their chops though, as Bears starting QB Jay Cutler will miss the game, giving way to former 2nd-round pick, Jimmy Clausen, who may not have top WR Alshon Jeffery (hamstring). Other notable injuries in this matchup include Chicago CB Tracy Porter (hamstring) and LB Jon Bostic (ankle), as well as Seattle LB Mike Morgan (hamstring) and FB Will Tukuafu (foot).
Chicago hasn’t started the season 0-3 since Dick Jauron’s 2003 squad went 7-9 while blowing through three quarterbacks. For Bears fans that are unhappy with Jay Cutler’s performance over the years, a few weeks of Jimmy Clausen at the helm will have them swooning for Cutler’s quick return from a hamstring injury. Clausen has started 11 games in his career, posting a record of 1-10 with the lone win coming in 2010 against Arizona.
Speaking of the Cardinals, they just pounded Chicago at Soldier Field last week 48-23, intercepting each Bears quarterback once in the process and holding RB Matt Forte to just 61 rushing yards. Chicago also racked up 14 penalties for an astronomical 170 yards, which tied the franchise record, and the 48 points allowed are the most points in a home game in the 95 seasons of Bears football! They also let a rookie take the opening kickoff 108 yards for a touchdown and converted only 2-of-12 third downs.
Seattle desperately needs to get RB Marshawn Lynch going, as his 3.5 yards per carry is a career low and the Seahawks have zero rushing touchdowns on the year after leading the NFL in that department in 2014. The Bears are just 2-9 since 2013 when giving up 150+ rushing yards in a game, something that Seattle accomplished nine times last season. Many pundits touted the acquisition of TE Jimmy Graham as the biggest move of the offseason, but Graham has just seven grabs for 62 yards and one touchdown. Against Green Bay, Graham was targeted only twice for a single catch of 11 yards.
The Seahawks drafted so well at the beginning of the Pete Carroll era, yet they’ve never addressed the biggest need on their roster for the last several seasons, a wide receiver of any ilk. The closest they came was with the addition of Percy Harvin in 2013 and that experiment was short-lived and lacked the impact they’d hoped for.
- Carrie Stroup, Gambling911.com Senior Reporter
