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Bears vs. Titans Prop Bets and Predictions: The Caleb Williams Debut

Written by: Richard Janvrin
Published September 7, 2024
6 min read
  • The Chicago Bears overhauled their offense this offseason, drafting Caleb Williams and Rome Odunze, signing D’Andrew Swift and Gerald Everett, and trading for Keenan Allen. 

  • Titans opponents averaged 33.6 pass attempts per game. 

  • Bears tight end Cole Kmet averaged about 42 yards per game last season before all of these new additions and finished with 22 yards or less six times. 

Week 1 of the NFL season includes a matchup that’s going somewhat under the radar, with the Chicago Bears hosting the Tennessee Titans. Yes, everyone knows this is Caleb Williams’ NFL regular season debut, but the Titans are a team that reinvented themselves this offseason and will look to take the shine off the 2024 NFL Draft’s No. 1 overall pick here on the road. 

Below, I’ll examine the top prop bets for this matchup, including my prediction. 

All odds are courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook, where you can get $200 in bonus bets and three free weeks of NFL Sunday Ticket when deposit $10, and wager $5.

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Bears vs Titans 2024 09 08 Prop Bets

Bears vs. Titans Predictions

The Bears are hosting the Titans here. I fully expect Soldier Field to be louder than ever with their new hope for the quarterback position. The Titans are 4.5-point favorites, and I’d take them plus the points. 

The Titans upgraded their team this offseason, including weapons like wide receivers Tyler Boyd and Calvin Ridley and running back Tony Pollard. They also drafted left tackle J.C. Latham and brought in Lloyd Cushenberry to play center. 

Defensively, they brought in Quandre Diggs, Chidobe Awuzie, and L’Jarius Sneed. 

Levis is the type of player who will want to throw deep, and he’ll have a tall task against the Bears secondary. However, I think we could see a bit of a lower-scoring game here, with two secondaries holding things down on the back end. 

I think the Bears still come away with a home win in Williams’s debut, but I think it’s by about three. Take the Titans plus the points. 

Bears vs. Titans Best Prop Bets

Continue reading below to learn about my best prop bets, which include Chicago Bears running back D’Andre Swift and more. 

D’Andre Swift Any Time TD (+140) at FanDuel Sportsbook

Swift joined the Bears on a three-year, $24 million deal this offseason. In 2023, he played with the Philadelphia Eagles, with 229 carries for 1,049 yards (4.6 yards per carry) and five touchdowns. In the passing game, he added 39 catches for 214 yards and another score. However, on that team was Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts, who scored an eye-popping 15 rushing touchdowns. 

As mentioned, Williams’ regular season debut is going up against a Titans secondary that should be improved. With this being his debut, I could see the Bears easing him into things, allowing Swift to get plenty of action. He’s also a great pass-catcher and will serve as a nice safety outlet for the rookie. 

The Titans recently acquired Ernest Jones IV to play linebacker and drafted T’Vondre Sweat. This will certainly complicate things, but I think Swift gets enough volume here that could result in him finding the end zone on a clear weather day in Chicago. 

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Caleb Williams Under 34.5 Pass Attempts (-120) at FanDuel Sportsbook

While Williams is a talent we haven’t seen since Andrew Luck and the team brought in several pass-catching options, we must remember that this is still his first start. Throughout the entire preseason, he attempted just 20 passes. 

Yes, he was phenomenal in college. However, in 2023 with USC, he attempted 35 passes or more five times. It wasn’t the same USC squad as 2022, where he had a much better season, but we can’t discount the player I mentioned above in Swift. The Bears backfield consists of multiple running backs that can help take some stress off this first start, including Swift, Khalil Herbert, and Roschon Johnson. 

Everyone's debut performance is different, but considering the caliber and potential of this Titans secondary, and this total is around 44 points, I think we see maybe 30 pass attempts for Williams while Swift has about 20 carries, and the other backs added another 10 or so. 

In 2023, teams averaged 33.6 pass attempts per game (15th) against the Titans before this new secondary.

There’s a chance we could see a shootout between these two quarterbacks with big arms, but I think we see Swift a bit more than expected here. 

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Cole Kmet Under 22.5 Receiving Yards (-114) at FanDuel Sportsbook

I just mentioned Williams going under 34.5 attempts, so we’re already working with less throws than the line suggests and this is Bears offense that has a lot of mouths to feed. 

This offense consists of Swift, Allen, Odunze, and Moore. 

In 2023, the Titans held opposing tight ends to 43.47 yards per game and about 4.5 receptions. The Bears also brought in Gerald Everett. While I don’t think Everett is the problem for Kmet, I think it’s a combination of Williams working in the receivers and Swift getting more involved in the rookie's first-ever start. 

Kmet averaged 42.3 yards per game last season, but that was before the additions mentioned above. He also went for 22 yards or less six times. 

I think this is really just a matter of fewer pass attempts than the line suggests and a lot of mouths to feed on this offense, including in the running game. 

Kmet is going to take a big step back this season, production-wise. 

Wager $5 at FanDuel for $200 in Bonus Bets

Bears vs. Titans: How to Watch

  • What: Titans vs Bears Regular Season Week 1

  • When: Sunday, September 8 at 1 PM ET

  • Where: Soldier Field

  • How to Watch: FOX

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Richard Janvrin

Richard Janvrin

Sports Betting Analyst

Expertise:
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After graduating from the University of New Hampshire with a BA in Journalism, Richard Janvrin has been covering iGaming and sports betting since December 2018. Richard has covered betting at Bleacher Report, Gambling.com, The Game Day, Forbes, and more.
Email: [email protected]
Nationality: American
Education: Bachelor of English/ Journalism
Favourite Sportsbook: FanDuel Sportsbook
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Experience: 9 years
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