Preseason Week 2 Best Bets: Bears at Seahawks 

How to bet ESPN’s primetime showdown on Thursday night

The Seattle Seahawks host the Chicago Bears on ESPN’s version of Thursday Night Football. Kickoff will be at 8:00pm EST and both teams still have a lot to figure out in their second preseason games. Below, you’ll see playing time projections, best bets and insights for both squads, accompanied with exclusive sportsbook offers from our partners. Scroll down or click any of the links below to get started!

SEATTLE SEAHAWKS OUTLOOK

CHICAGO BEARS OUTLOOK

SEAHAWKS-BEARS BEST BETS

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SEATTLE SEAHAWKS

With Drew Lock out due to a positive COVID test, Geno Smith and Jacob Eason will split quarterback duties for the Seahawks on Thursday night. Last week, Lock went 11-for-15 for 102 yards and two touchdowns, so it’s unfortunate timing for him to miss this contest as he competes for the starting role. Pete Carroll indicated that Smith has the upper hand right now anyhow, and he went 10-15 for 101 yards last week. Eason didn’t get into last week’s game, but should see the majority of the snaps under center in this contest. 

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Behind Rashaad Penny at running back, Kenneth Walker III will miss the game due to an injury which means Travis Homer and DeeJay Dallas will likely split most of the carries. At wideout, Dee Eskridge and Marquise Goodwin both aren’t at 100%, so assuming that starters Tyler Lockett, DK Metcalf and Freddie Swain don’t get many snaps, look for guys like Bo Melton, Penny Hart, Aaron Fuller and newly-acquired J.J. Arcega-Whiteside to see some run. The right side of the starting offensive line (Gabe Jackson at right guard and Jake Curhan at right tackle) are also both banged up, so their status is something to keep an eye on. Three defensive starters are also hurt: CB Artie Burns, CB Sidney Jones IV and LB Jordyn Brooks. Backups Tre Brown (CB) and Ryan Neal (CB) are also injured, so this Seattle secondary could be quite thin when it comes to their first and second string units. 

That could be an edge to exploit, along with the next point. Last week in their 32-25 loss to the Steelers, Seattle allowed Pittsburgh to amass 185 rushing yards (6.9 yards per carry), so they will need to clean things up from a run prevention standpoint on a short week.

CHICAGO BEARS

Since the Bears also had only four days to prepare for this game, they’re not going to ask their starters to do much. In fact, they’ll see only one or two series, according to head coach Matt Eberflus.

"It's a short week, so we're not going to put the stress on the bodies," Eberflus said, per ChicagoBears.com. "We're going to go 6-to-10 plays, depending on a series or two, with a limited number of guys. Other guys might get 20 plays and we'll yank them from there. And then the young guys will get a lot of reps." 

On Saturday, Chicago beat the Chiefs 19-14 while the No. 1 offense played 18 snaps and the No. 1 defense played 16 snaps. So, both units will see a decrease in snaps for this one. Most notably, running back David Montgomery should make his preseason debut, even though he’ll only log a few snaps. Against the Chiefs, Chicago’s defense was outstanding, as they allowed just 205 total yards, including 52 rushing yards.

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The main battle to watch is at wide receiver behind clear top target Darnell Mooney. Guys like Equanimeous St. Brown, Byron Pringle, Dante Pettis, Dazz Newsome, Tajae Sharpe and rookie Velus Jones Jr. are fighting it out for starting spots. Some of them are also not at 100%, but someone is going to emerge this week; it’s inevitable. 

"These guys have bought into the right mindset, and the competition brings out the best in all those guys," offensive coordinator Luke Getsy explained, per ChicagoBears.com. "You've seen these guys working their butts off and pushing themselves and buying into the philosophy of the style of play that we're going to play. That mindset and getting nasty and getting physical is a big part of it. I've been very impressed with these guys getting after it that way. The competition part of it, I love every bit of it because it makes all of us better." 

Behind Justin Fields, Trevor Siemian and Nathan Peterson will split reps at quarterback. I don’t expect Khalil Herbert to see much time at running back since he’s going to be a major part of the offense, so this could be an opportunity for Trestan Ebner, Darrynton Evans and De’Montre Tuggle to get the majority of carries. But, as noted above, it’ll be interesting to see if any receivers show up, as nobody had over 44 yards and only three players had more than one catch last week. Against a banged-up and young secondary, the opportunity will be there. 

BEST BETS

I’m going to immediately disregard the starters on both teams since both squads are playing on short weeks. Therefore, like most preseason matchups, this will come down to second and third-string performances. Overall, I’m giving the clear edge to the Bears, as their overall team defense was great last week and I think Siemien is a clear upgrade over Eason at quarterback. Looking up and down the rosters, I also expect the Bears to try to exploit the injuries in Seattle’s secondary and air the ball out quite a bit in an effort to find out who is going to be a part of their plans at wideout. 

Best Spread Bet: Bears ATS

Best Moneyline Bet: Bears ML (underdog)

Best Total Bet: Over 40

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