The beauty of a primetime game is the sweat of a same game parlay — and we've got a great Bears vs Chargers same game parlay cooked up for Sunday Night Football.
There were 16 teams with preseason odds of +4000 or better to win the Super Bowl. Of those teams, the Chargers are the only team to have fewer than three wins. Needless to say, this season has fallen short of the Chargers' expectations so far. However, the key to turning things around is winning the games you're supposed to win and this is the perfect spot as the Chargers are 8.5-point favorites.
As for the Bears, rookie Tyson Bagent did the one thing Justin Fields has struggled to do, win. However, that was against the Raiders. This week, we'll see if he can keep up with a more explosive offense.
Without further ado, let’s build our parlay.
Bears vs Chargers Same Game Parlay:
The Sunday Night Football Parlay (+850 at FanDuel):
- Chargers 1Q -2.5
- Roschon Johnson Over 30.5 Rushing Yards
- Alt Under 50.5
- Austin Ekeler 40+ Rushing Yards
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Chargers 1Q -2.5
It will be hard for the Chargers to start strong if they aren’t ahead after the first quarter. Kellen Moore has done an excellent job of scheming early in the game but has struggled in the second half. Los Angeles is tied for the eighth-most first-quarter points per game at 5.7, but that increases to 7.0 at home.
Conversely, the Chargers are 24th in second-half points at 8.5. As for stopping the Bears' offense, the Chargers are facing an undrafted rookie quarterback with a noodle arm. On top of that, this is a must-win home game for a defense that has greatly underwhelmed. I think this will be one of the few times this year that the Chargers' defense lives up to its potential, at least early on.
Alt Under 50.5
I expect a strong performance from LA's defense, which will drive this total down. This game reminds me of the matchup against the Raiders. The Chargers could rush out to a 10- or 17-point lead, but will then likely resort to their typically conservative game plan. Against Las Vegas, the Chargers jumped out to a 24-point lead and then took their foot off the gas. With a similar script, there will be a similar result. Therefore, I expect this to hit.
Roschon Johnson Over 30.5 Rushing Yards
Dont’a Foreman lit the fantasy world on fire with his huge three-touchdown performance last week. Well, despite the success he was having, Foreman split the rushing workload nearly 50/50 last week. I expect something similar this week. Johnson’s prop is 16 yards less than Foreman’s and Chicago will need to run the ball to help its young quarterback. The volume will be there, even if the carries are split.
As for Johnson’s potential, he was out snapping Foreman before his injury and playing well, averaging 4.9 yards per carry. Between that success and the volume at hand, this mark should be one Johnson can crush.
Austin Ekeler 40+ Rushing Yards
This is the final layer to our Chargers playing conservative take. When Los Angeles is leading, its run-pass split is just about 50/50. When the Chargers are tied or trailing, that split is about two-thirds pass, one-third run. In the game against the Raiders, we saw the Chargers try their best to run out the clock by feeding Joshua Kelley. Now, they'll split that workload between Kelley and Ekeler. However, as we have seen throughout the year, Kelley is a much better complement than a feature back.
The worry is that the Bears are second in yards allowed per carry. However, per PFF grading, the Bears have performed as the 21st-ranked run defense. I think a talented back like Ekeler can take advantage of the flaws PFF has seen. Plus, even when Ekeler struggled last week, he crossed this threshold.
