NFL Expert Picks, Week 2: Bears are big underdogs vs. Buccaneers

When an NFL team loses a game as badly as the Chicago Bears lost in Week 1 to the Green Bay Packers, it’ll take a few strong performances (and wins) before media members buy-in.

That’s why it’s no surprise that the Bears are big underdogs in this week’s NFL expert picks.

According to NFL Pick Watch, 76% of experts polled are picking the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to defeat Chicago in Week 2.

The Buccaneers are coming off an upset victory over the Minnesota Vikings in Week 1. Quarterback Baker Mayfield looked competent, and the defense did its job against Kirk Cousins and the now 0-2 Vikings, Minnesota lost to the Philadelphia Eagles on Thursday Night Football.

As a result, the Bucs are a hot commodity.

Chicago Bears are quickly becoming the butt of NFL jokes again

To make matters worse for the Bears, the messaging coming out of Halas Hall hasn’t been great this week. There’s a sense of confusion and a lack of accountability among the coaches and players for Week 1’s poor showing.

The Bears are dropping in NFL Power Rankings and have gone from a darkhorse wildcard team in the preseason to a bottom-five club entering Week 2.

The NFL is infamous for being a league of recency bias, however. If the Chicago Bears can pull off an upset win Sunday against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and Justin Fields looks good in that winning effort, they’ll soon become a popular pick again.

Subscribe to The Bears Talk Podcast: APPLE | SPOTIFY | GOOGLE