Chicago Bears At Carolina Panthers: 3 Props To Play

The prop plays are back, and hopefully, if you’re a regular reader of this article, you have been placing wagers with me and winning some money. We have hit 68% of our prop bets over the last two seasons (69-33). I am not making that number up; it’s accurate, and believe me, I’m as stunned as you are.

Can we keep hitting at roughly a 2-1 weekly clip? Let’s see how we do this week as we kick off the 2026 campaign. Here are 3 props to play (odds and numbers courtesy of FanDuel).

Caleb Williams OVER 226.5 Passing Yards -114

Ben Johnson’s goal is to set the scoring record. Peter Schrager thinks Caleb Williams is going to throw for 5,000 yards. I think Caleb (and Ben) also want to leave no doubt with Carolina Panthers fans that the mistake the Panthers made trading away the first-round pick that became Caleb Williams (and so much more) for Bryce Young was a massive mistake. I mean, they already know it, but they will really want them to know it.

You keep all that in mind, and in week one, against a defense that is definitely beatable, the Bears aren’t going to try to light up the scoreboard? I think the Bears feature a passing attack that looks clean and crisp, like it did much of the summer, and Williams has no problems clearing this bar and probably pushes past 250, maybe even 260 or 270 yards on Sunday.

D’Andre Swift OVER 63.5 Rushing Yards -114

Usually, I stand by the rule of not betting over a QB’s passing yards and over a running back’s rushing yards. It feels like it’s a tall order to go over both, but I do think the Bears offense hums, and we are looking at 64 yards rushing, not 94.

Kyle Monangai’s prop is 31.5, and I would leave that one alone. I feel like Swift gets the heavier workload this week, maybe grabbing 75% of the touches out of the backfield. I think the Bears’ excellent guard tandem does a solid job on Derrick Brown, and because of that, they get the ground game going. Swift is out to prove that last season wasn’t a fluke and that he’s arrived as one of the better backs in the league.

Colston Loveland OVER 52.5 Receiving Yards -114

This is the only receiving prop I feel good about. Rome Odunze feels like he could have 75 yards or 25 yards. I feel like Luther Burden will go over his 57.5 number, but not nearly confident enough to put money on it. The Bears are going to live in 12 and 13 personnel, and I think Loveland emerges this year as the team’s most targeted weapon.

Burden may end up with more yards than Loveland because I think he will have a better yards-per-catch number than Loveland, but I think Loveland ends up with a lot of targets. The Carolina Panthers really struggled against tight ends last year. Yes, they’ve brought in some new faces, but facing off against possibly the best tight end room in the league is a tough place to start to see if you’ve improved.