Photo via ESPN

Week 1 best bets for Sunday afternoon's games

5 against the Carolina Panthers at Bank of America Stadium. Ben Johnson's squad enters the contest backed by a solid 12-6-1 record against the spread across the 2025 campaign, including a 5-4 mark in away matchups.

5 percent of defensive snaps and paced the NFL in Cover 3 looks.

To exploit those tendencies, the Bears are expected to test interior vacancies using tight end Colston Loveland while calling on Kalif Raymond to push deep coverage backwards, generating throwing lanes for quarterback Caleb Williams to locate targets like Rome Odunze and Luther Burden III. 5 yards per carry during the 2025 season.

Through strategic tight end usage, the visitors aim to gain blocking leverage against Carolina's defensive structure to establish their ground attack and control the road contest.