The Daily Sweat: Bears vs. Commanders isn't great, but there's a point spread on it
Unfortunately, it's not possible for the NFL to flex Thursday night's game and give us, say, the Buffalo Bills at the Kansas City Chiefs.
Washington Commanders at Chicago Bears might be the worst matchup possible this NFL season, Perhaps the worst matchup of the year has to include the Carolina Panthers, but let's say Commanders-Bears is on a short list. That's our Thursday night game this week.
The quality of the matchup usually doesn't matter to serious and even semi-serious bettors, however. The football fan in you can't wait for Bills-Chiefs, but you might not be able to figure out which side to bet on. Perhaps there's a better betting angle for Commanders-Bears. It'll just be a tough one to watch.
The Bears are 1-point underdogs at BetMGM. That line moved from Bears -1, which is was most of the week. It's a little surprising the Bears are underdogs.
Washington has been a mess since a Week 1 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars. They've lost four in a row. Carson Wentz is making too many mistakes. Ron Rivera caused a distraction by letting it slip that the difference between his team's rebuild and the other three NFC East teams is "quarterback." Not great.
The 2-3 Bears aren't great either, but had a positive comeback against the Minnesota Vikings in Week 5, even if it ultimately ended in a loss. They haven't been good, but they have been competitive. They're just not fun to watch with an offensive plan that refuses to let Justin Fields throw it.
Still, it seems the Bears are the better team. Most metrics indicate Chicago is better, albeit slightly. And they're at home. Take the Bears. Then perhaps find something productive to do with your Thursday night.
Here's the first look at the sports betting slate on Thursday:
Both ALDS matchups continue
The American League took Wednesday off, but that means there's a pair of Game 2s on Thursday. Putting the New York Yankees up against a bad NFL Thursday night game is a big test to see if the NFL can beat MLB in TV ratings no matter how bad the football matchup is.
The first game is the Houston Astros against the Seattle Mariners. Houston is a -155 favorite. The Yankees take on the Cleveland Guardians in the second game of the day. The Yankees are a -140 favorite.
College football in the mix too
Maybe Baylor at West Virginia will be the ratings winner of Thursday night. Baylor is a 3.5-point favorite in that game. West Virginia was in a Thursday night game on Sept. 22 and came through with a 33-10 win over Virginia Tech, so we know they're comfortable in this spot.
There's also Temple at UCF on Thursday night. UCF is a 23.5-point favorite.
NHL has 10 games
It's nice to have the NHL option back on the betting schedule. Among the 10 games on Thursday is a good one between the Colorado Avalanche and Calgary Flames. It'll be hard to get many eyeballs on that game with football and the baseball playoffs vying for attention, but it's a really fun early season game between two good teams.
What's the best bet?
It's not a bet you'll brag to your friends about, but I do think the Bears are the right side. I can't trust the Commanders on the road against anyone at this point.
