Packers open up as underdogs vs Bears in Week 1

With the Green Bay Packers’ full 2023 schedule released, DraftKing Sportsbook has released its opening lines for the upcoming season. In Week 1, the Packers will apparently be an underdog against the Chicago Bears — a role that the team hasn’t played much over the last 15 years.

The Bears are 2.5-point favorites, which means that Green Bay and Chicago are expected to be roughly equal after accounting for home-field advantage. According to Pro Football Reference’s ($) data, the Packers have only been underdogs in 4 of the teams’ 32 matchups since 2007. In three of those four games, Green Bay covered and twice the Packers won outright.

In total, Green Bay is only favored in 6 of their 17 games this season, though, 13 of those games have a point spread of three points or fewer in either direction. By all accounts, this should be a highly-competitive season for the Packers on a game-by-game basis. To show how even Chicago and Green Bay are perceived by the sportsbook, the Bears are listed as two-point underdogs when they make the trip to Lambeau Field in the season finale.

2023 Green Bay Packers Point Spreads

• Week 1: Packers (+2.5) @ Chicago Bears
• Week 2: Packers (-1) @ Atlanta Falcons
• Week 3: New Orleans Saints vs Packers (-1)
• Week 4: Detroit Lions vs Packers (+1.5) [TNF]
• Week 5: Packers (+1.5) @ Las Vegas Raiders [MNF]
• Week 7: Packers (+3.5) @ Denver Broncos
• Week 8: Minnesota Vikings vs Packers (+1)
• Week 9: Los Angeles Rams vs Packers (-1.5)
• Week 10: Packers (+3) @ Pittsburgh Steelers
• Week 11: Los Angeles Chargers vs Packers (+2.5)
• Week 12: Packers (+4) @ Detroit Lions [Thanksgiving]
• Week 13: Kansas City Chiefs vs Packers (+5.5) [SNF]
• Week 14: Packers (+2.5) @ New York Giants [MNF]
• Week 15: Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs Packers (-3.5)
• Week 16: Packers (-1) @ Carolina Panthers
• Week 17: Packers (+2.5) @ Minnesota Vikings [SNF]
• Week 18: Chicago Bears vs Packers (-2)