Buffalo Bills (0-1) vs. Chicago Bears (0-0-1)
August 17, 2025 8:00 pm EDT
The Line: Chicago Bears -2.5; Over/Under: 41.5
(Get latest betting odds)
The Buffalo Bills and the Chicago Bears meet Sunday in NFL preseason action from Soldier Field. This will be the second exhibition game for both teams. Here’s a Bears vs Bills prediction. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best Bears vs Bills pick.
Buffalo Bills Betting Preview
The Bills posted a very nice regular season in 2024 and had a strong playoff run but ultimately fell short of their goal. Buffalo improved on their 11-6 record from 2023, rattling off a 13-4 run across the regular season. That makes six straight winning seasons for the Bills to go along with their five straight AFC East titles and six straight playoff appearances. Buffalo started out the postseason with a bang, drilling the Denver Broncos in a Wild Card matchup 31-7. Next came a Divisional Playoffs win over the Baltimore Ravens by a much-closer 27-25 tally. Buffalo’s Super Bowl dreams came to an end in the Conference Championship Game however, as they lost to the Kansas City Chiefs 32-29.
In their first preseason action of the 2025 season versus the New York Giants, the Bills went into the locker rom with a 16-10 deficit. Buffalo was outscored 18-15 the rest of the way, resulting in a 34-25 defeat in the end. The Bills’ Shane Buechele posted a 10-of-12 passing line with 91 yards, while Mitch Trubisky added 138 yards and a score on 9-of-13 passing. Mike White got in on the action as well with 112 yards and two TDs from an 8-of-13 line. Ty Johnson led the team on the ground with three carries for 26 yards, and Frank Gore Jr. had five totes for 21 yards. Tyrell Shavers (two catches; 70 yards) and Gore Jr. (five catches; 50 yards) were the top two receivers for Buffalo during the loss.
Chicago Bears Betting Preview
Over on the Bears’ side, they’re coming off a rough campaign in 2024. Chicago couldn’t improve on their 7-10 2023 run despite a 4-2 start (their best since 2020). The Bears would subsequently drop 10 straight games, tying a franchise record set in 2022. After finally getting another win in Week 18 versus the rival Green Bay Packers, Chicago ended up with a 5-12 record, a last-place finish in the NFC North and their fourth straight season out of the playoff picture. Head coach Matt Eberflus was fired on November 29 after a 4-8 start to the season.
Chicago didn’t get to start their 2025 preseason until this past Sunday versus the Miami Dolphins. In that one the Bears were outscored 14-10 in the first half and 10-7 in the fourth quarter but still managed a 24-24 tie ballgame. QB Tyson Bagent posted 103 yards on 13-of-19 passing with one TD and one pick, but Case Keenum did most of the scoring on 8-of-10 passing for 80 yards and two scores. Kyle Monangai led the rush on 30 yards from six carries, and Jahdae Walker hauled in three balls for 41 yards and a receiving score.
Buffalo Bills Player Prop Facts
- Josh Allen has scored two or more touchdowns in each of the Bills’ last three games with a total points line of at least 50.0.
- James Cook has scored at least one touchdown in each of the Bills’ last six games as favorites against AFC opponents.
- Curtis Samuel has recorded 22+ receiving yards in eight of his last nine September home appearances.
- Josh Allen has recorded 243+ passing yards in each of the Bills’ last six September games as home favorites against AFC opponents.
- James Cook has recorded 67+ rushing yards in four of the Bills’ last five Sunday home games.
- Curtis Samuel has recorded 22+ rushing and receiving yards in nine of his last 10 September home appearances.
- Josh Allen has recorded 23+ completions in each of the Bills’ last six September games as home favorites against AFC opponents.
- James Cook ranked T1st in the NFL in rushing touchdowns (16) last season.
Chicago Bears Player Prop Facts
- D’Andre Swift has scored a touchdown in each of his six previous September home appearances against NFC opponents.
- D’Andre Swift has recorded 15+ receiving yards in each of his 10 previous September appearances with his team as an underdog.
- Caleb Williams has recorded 33+ rushing yards in each of the Bears’ last five home games against NFC opponents.
- D.J. Moore has recorded 64+ rushing and receiving yards in each of the Bears’ last 10 games against NFC North opponents.
- Caleb Williams has recorded 23+ completions in each of the Bears’ last three home games against NFC North opponents.
- Caleb Williams had the most rushing attempts without a rushing touchdown last season (81).
Bears vs Bills Prediction
I’ll lean toward Buffalo. The Bills do have a few things to clean up after their first preseason game, though. Buffalo did well through the air, notching 331 pass yards and 7.1 yards per play overall. That said, the Bills went just 1-of-9 on third-down tries and held the ball for just 23:41 of game time. Defensively Buffalo gave up 396 total yards (317 passing) and 9-of-19 on third-down tries with zero turnovers. The Giants’ 10 penalties for 70 yards should have helped more than they did. Still, Buffalo showed some nice depth in their first preseason outing of the year.
As for Chicago, I’d like to see a little more consistency in their offense after a sloppy opener (17 total penalties; seven from the Bears). They should be competitive here, though.
