One of the great rivalries in sports takes center stage in the opening week of the 2018 NFL season when the Green Bay Packers host the Chicago Bears on Sunday at 8:20 p.m. ET. The Packers are 7.5-point favorites on Sunday Night Football, down from an open of eight. The Over-Under, or total points Vegas thinks will be scored, is 47.5. Aaron Rodgers is back for the Packers, but the Bears just traded for NFL Defensive Player of the Year Khalil Mack.
Before you lock in any Bears vs. Packers picks, you need to hear from SportsLine NFL expert R.J. White. The CBS Sports NFL editor finished in the top 1 percent of the Las Vegas SuperContest last season, tying for 18th out of a record 2,748 competitors. It was no fluke, either, as he also cashed big-time in the 2015 SuperContest. If you had placed $100 on each of White's NFL picks last season, you would have won nearly $2,000. Smart bettors tail him.
Now, White has analyzed all the key factors for Bears-Packers and come up with a confident pick against the spread, which he's sharing over at SportsLine. And you definitely want to hear what he has to say since he's an incredible 16-3 in against the spread picks involving the Packers.
White knows Rodgers suffered a broken collarbone after being driven to the ground against the Vikings on Oct. 15. From that point on, the Packers finished the season 3-8, going 7-9 overall for their first losing campaign since 2008. But Rodgers is back, and new GM Brian Gutenkunst focused on the shoring up the weaknesses of 2017, signing veteran free agents such as Pro Bowl tight end Jimmy Graham, DE Muhammad Wilkerson and CB Tramon Williams. The Packers have Super Bowl aspirations once again.
The team ranked 23rd against the pass last year, but used its first two picks in the NFL Draft to nab CBs Jaire Alexander and Josh Jackson.
Just because the Packers are touchdown favorites doesn't mean the Bears can't at least cover, or even pull off the outright upset. The trade for Mack, the NFL Defensive Player of the Year in 2016, certainly helps. He'll lead a defense that ranked ninth last year in yards allowed and had 42 sacks, the second-most by the team in 20 years.
The off-season was focused on getting players around Trubisky, who last year had just seven TDs and seven INTs in 12 starts. The team finished dead-last in passing at 175 yards per game.
But GM Ryan Pace blew up the depth chart to sign a pair of WRs and a TE who will immediately start in Allen Robinson, Taylor Gabriel and Trey Burton. Trubisky's weapons are drastically improved from a year ago.
We can tell you White is leaning toward the under, but he has uncovered a critical x-factor that will determine the outcome against the spread. He's only sharing it over at SportsLine.
Who wins Bears-Packers? And what critical stat determines the outcome? Visit SportsLine now to see which side of the spread you need to jump on, all from the SuperContest guru who's an incredible 16-3 on Packers games.
Sunday Night Football odds: Bears vs. Packers picks from proven expert who's 16-3 on Green Bay games
RJ White drove deep in the Las Vegas SuperContest two of the last three years
By
CBS Sports Staff
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2 min read