Chicago Bears vs. Washington Commanders: NFL Week 5 Betting Preview and Picks

The Commanders get a chance to crawl back above .500 on the season when they host the bad news Bears for this week’s edition of Thursday night NFL betting action.

Washington isn’t exactly playing great ball itself but it’s favored by a short touchdown over a Chicago team playing its way toward another coaching change.

How are we playing this game with our free NFL betting pick?

NFL Betting Lines

The Week 5 NFL betting market opened Washington as a 6.5-point favorite for Thursday night, with an over/under of right around 44.5. Early betting action shaved that spread to -6.

Bears-Commanders NFL Betting Preview

Chicago stands with Carolina as the last two winless teams in the League after blowing a game against Denver last Sunday 31-28. The Bears scored three touchdowns in the second quarter to lead 21-7 at the half, then scored the first seven points of the second half to go up 28-7. But Chicago then allowed Denver to score the final 24 points of the game to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.

The Bears out-gained the Broncos 471-311 and out-rushed Denver 171-97. But on the key play of the game, with the lead and the ball in Broncos territory midway through the fourth quarter, QB Fields fumbled into a Denver defensive touchdown, and the meltdown was on.

Two weeks ago, Chicago lost at Kansas City 41-10. Three weeks ago, the Bears lost at Tampa Bay 27-17. And four weeks ago, they lost to Green Bay 38-20.

Is it too soon to begin wondering if this team will win a game this season?

Washington is 2-2 on the season after falling at Philadelphia in overtime last Sunday 34-31. The Commanders, playing as 10-point underdogs, scored the first seven points of the game and led 17-10 at the half. Washington later trailed the Eagles 24-17 and 31-24 but scored on the final play of regulation to force OT. But the Commanders then punted on the first possession of extra time and lost on a Philadelphia field goal.

Washington got out-gained by the Eagles 415-365 but won time of possession 35:31 and committed zero turnovers.

The Commanders opened this season with a lackluster 20-16 victory over Arizona, then rallied to beat Denver 35-33, then lost badly to Buffalo 37-3. So that’s three games in a row Washington’s allowed at least 33 points.

Bears-Commanders Recent History

Washington owns the recent rivalry with Chicago, winning six of the last seven meetings SU, going 6-1 ATS along the way. Most recently, in October of last season, the Commanders won a really ugly game at Soldier Field 12-7.

NFL Betting Trends

Stretching back into last season, Chicago is 0-14 SU, 2-11-1 ATS over its last 14 games.

Totals Report

The overs are 4-0 in Bears games this season, which are averaging 53 total points.

The totals are split 2-2 in Commanders games, which are averaging 52 points.