Chicago Bears enter Super Bowl LXI countdown at 7-2 with the numbers on their side
ESPN has started its 100-day Super Bowl LXI countdown. At 7-2, the Bears are coming off their bye with a home game against the Saints next.
The Super Bowl LXI countdown has started, and the Chicago Bears are among the teams with a real claim to be part of it. ESPN marked 100 days to the game on Nov. 6. The network will carry the Super Bowl for the first time on Feb. 14, 2027, when the game returns to the Los Angeles market. Until then, ESPN plans to rank Super Bowl history every other Sunday and to project which teams can reach the game.
Chicago used its Week 10 bye to take stock at 7-2. Jobe Morrison of Athlon Sports wrote that the advanced numbers place the Bears near the top tier on both sides of the ball. He ranked the offense seventh in success rate and fifth in dropback success rate. The defense ranked third in overall success rate and fourth in dropback success rate. Morrison noted that the offense has looked like "a juggernaut again" since Caleb Williams returned from a hamstring injury that kept him out for three and a half games. He also credited the deadline trade for defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons with lifting the defense over its last two games.
The analysis also pointed to two weaknesses. Chicago's run game has fallen off from the stretch when it regularly topped 200 rushing yards. The run defense also ranks lower than the pass defense, sitting 14th in rush EPA allowed. The most recent game showed both the strengths and the risks. Williams threw four interceptions against Tampa Bay, and the Bears still won 27-24 despite five turnovers.
What it means for the Saints game
The Bears come out of the bye having won four straight. They beat Atlanta 31-23, New England 30-24 and Seattle 34-17 before edging the Buccaneers. Their only losses were a 9-3 home loss to Minnesota and a 31-7 defeat at Green Bay. Through nine games they have scored 241 points and allowed 184, a margin of plus-57. They are 4-1 at Soldier Field, where they host the New Orleans Saints on Sunday, Nov. 22, on Fox.
The board on this site's game page has Chicago as a heavy favorite. Novig lists the Bears at -525 on the moneyline. DraftKings has the best price on Chicago at -485, which pays $20.62 per $100 compared with $19.05 at Novig. On the Saints, Novig's +426 is close to FanDuel's +430, the best price among the seven venues. On the spread, Chicago is favored by 9.5 points. Novig prices that side at -120, while DraftKings has it at -110. The total ranges from 48.5 at DraftKings to 49.5 at FanDuel. Sportsbook hold ranges from 4.2% to 4.6% on the moneyline and from 4.7% to 5.0% on the spread and total.
A 9.5-point line asks a lot of a team whose last three wins came by 6, 8 and 3 points before the blowout in Seattle. Even so, it reflects how the market views a rested Bears team at home. The Saints game is the first test of whether Chicago can clean up its turnovers and get the run game going again as the Super Bowl countdown moves into the stretch run. Season coverage is on the Bears team page.