Following the monster 11-game NFL preseason Week 2 slate on Saturday are just two games on the usual loaded day of Sunday, which includes a featured matchup on FOX. With all eyes on the prime time clash, we’re here to help you add both excitement and value to it with our best Bills vs. Bears predictions.

Speaking of value, you’ll also be able to add to any Bills vs. Bears picks with a brand new, two-part (and guaranteed) DraftKings Sportsbook bonus code offer that is perfect for the NFL season!  

Bills vs. Bears Predictions For NFL Preseason Week 2, Sunday 8/17

A Bills and Bears matchup may be a battle of “B” teams, but that’s about all they’ve had in common in recent years. While Buffalo has been a perennial Super Bowl favorite since drafting QB Josh Allen, Chicago has been trying to just get back to the postseason.

They’re hoping that the drafting of a QB - Caleb Williams - will help them do just that. A 4-2 start heading into the bye week provided plenty of promise, but the now infamous Fail Mary collapse against the Washington Commanders kick-started a 10-game losing streak. Even still, there are no questions about Williams being the guy in the Windy City.

That means that we didn’t see him on the field for the Bears' preseason opener against the Miami Dolphins last Sunday, which ended in a classic preseason tie (24-24). Likewise, the Bills felt no need to risk the health of MVP candidate Josh Allen.

That helped lead to their loss to the New York Giants, but head coach Sean McDermott is known for being super conservative in the preseason. That said, we still saw his team favored when the Bills vs. Bears odds were first released. However, news has since been released to change that completely.

Even still, we’ve found a target for the best bet from our Bills vs. Bears predictions to share with you.
 

 

 

Bills vs. Bears Best Bet: Under 41.5 Points (-115 At DraftKings)

The news we’re referencing that swapped the lines for this matchup isn’t what broke on Wednesday morning regarding Bills RB James Cook getting his four-year, $48 million contract, but rather what we learned later that day.

That would be the fact that, unlike NFL preseason Week 1, the Bears WILL be playing their starters. While that now has Chicago favored, what about the Buffalo starters? We saw them play the first quarter last week outside of Josh Allen, and with the aforementioned Cook just now getting back into full swing, we don’t expect to see him either.

The only discussions regarding Buffalo right now are about 95% whether or not they can get over the Patrick Mahomes hump (Allen is 0-4 against him in the playoffs) and about 5% regarding their new stadium.

In other words, their focus isn’t beating the Bears. In the same breath, this is also going to be the first time that we see Caleb Williams running new head coach Ben Johnson’s quite complex offense. With that in mind, we’re going to avoid sweating out a pick on either team winning this matchup.

Instead, we’re going to take the approach of a lower-scoring game now that the total has been ticking up since the news of the Chicago starters playing. While we understand the increase, preseason totals north of 40 will always cause hesitation. It’s also a trend that we’ve seen with the Bills under McDermott.

In last year’s preseason, they scored 26 points in the opener (they scored 25 this year), followed by games of just nine and six points. We won’t pretend that preseason trends are worth taking to the bank, but we still have the under 41.5 points (-115 at DraftKings) as the best bet from our Bills vs. Bears predictions. 
 

 

 

How To Watch Bills vs. Bears NFL Preseason Week 2

You’ve seen from the start that this will be the featured game on Sunday on FOX, and you can see more regarding how to watch Bills vs. Bears NFL preseason Week 2:

  • Where: Soldier Field in Chicago, Illinois
  • When: 8 PM ET on 8/17
  • Watch on TV: FOX
  • Where to stream: NFL+, Hulu + Live TV
     
 

 

Bills vs. Bears Odds, Spreads, Total & Betting Lines

Lines for preseason games are always interesting to monitor as we learn more about who will play and who won’t, and you can see the latest Bills vs. Bears odds at DraftKings Sportsbook below:

 

 

Bills vs. Bears Injury Report & Latest News

During the preseason opener, the Bills had some injury scares, but none appeared too serious. Even still, the safety duo of Taylor Rapp and Cole Bishop still needs to get to 100%, as does WR Khalil Shakir.

Regarding the Bills vs. Bears news in Chicago, most of their big names didn’t play for pure rest reasons. They’re quite healthy across the board, with perhaps the most notable players being secondary guys Jaylon Johnson & Kyler Gordon and backup RB Roschon Johnson.

Check out news beyond just the Bills vs. Bears injury updates with the Fantasy Alarm NFL injury report.
 

 

 

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