Super Bowl 2019: Updated Favorites and Odds Entering Wild Card Weekend

The Chicago Bears have had a remarkable turnaround in 2018 under first-year head coach Matt Nagy.

The Bears had been NFL cellar dwellers in recent years under former head coach John Fox, and when general manager Ryan Pace hired Nagy, there was little reason to think that this year would be different.

However, Nagy had learned the finer points of offensive football under Andy Reid with the Kansas City Chiefs, and he was up for the job of installing a new offense with the Bears and tutoring second-year quarterback Mitchell Trubisky.

Nagy has done more than give the Bears a creative game plan and tutor a young quarterback. He has given the team a sense of confidence and joy when playing the game. 

Chicago was 12-4 during the regular season, and they will host a wild-card playoff game against the Philadelphia Eagles Sunday night. The Bears are six-point favorites over the defending Super Bowl champions, according to OddsShark.

Philadelphia struggled throughout most of the season, but the Eagles won their last three games and five of their last six to overcome a 4-6 start.

Chicago will try to stop the Eagles with one of the most dangerous and hardest-hitting defenses in the NFL. That unit is led by Khalil Mack, Akiem Hicks and rookie Roquan Smith.

The Eagles will counter with quarterback Nick Foles, wideouts Golden Tate and Alshon Jeffery and tight end Zach Ertz. 

Tate was acquired from the Detroit Lions prior to the trade deadline, and while he has not been a huge contributor, he had a series of productive games against Chicago when he was with the Lions.

Trubisky has completed 66.6 percent of his passes with a 24-12 TD-interception ratio. His ability to run with the ball when facing pressure has given the Bears the ability to convert third downs into first downs, and that's one of the reasons that the Bears have been able to go from last to first.

Wild Card Round

Saturday, Jan. 5

No. 6 Indianapolis Colts at No. 3 Houston Texans (-1.5), 4:35 p.m. ET, ESPN/ABC

No. 5 Seattle Seahawks at No. 4 Dallas Cowboys (-1.5), 8:15 p.m. ET, Fox

Sunday, Jan. 6

No. 5 Los Angeles Chargers at No. 4 Baltimore Ravens (-3), 1:05 p.m. ET, CBS

No. 6 Philadelphia Eagles at No. 3 Chicago Bears (-6), 4:40 p.m. ET, NBC

Point spread information courtesy of OddsShark.

Indianapolis at Houston

The Colts may be the team that nobody wants to play in the postseason. First-year head coach Frank Reich was able to turn this team around after a troubling start. The Colts won nine of their last 10 games to earn their spot in the postseason.

One of those wins was a victory over the first-place Texans in Houston. Andrew Luck has bounced back from a shoulder injury that kept him out all of last season, and he has surged as the year has progressed. Luck has completed 67.3 percent of his passes for 4,593 yards and 39 touchdowns with 15 interceptions.

Luck has a pair of top-drawer receivers in wideout T.Y. Hilton and tight end Eric Ebron, and running back Marlon Mack is dependable enough to take the pressure off of Luck and the passing game.

The Texans had their own hot streak at one point during the season when they ran off nine straight wins. Deshaun Watson has been able to stay healthy all season, and he has one of the three best receivers in the NFL in DeAndre Hopkins.

The Texans have incredible defensive personnel in J.J. Watt, Jadeveon Clowney and Benardrick McKinney, and those three are capable of dominating. They will have to be at their best if they are going to slow down Luck in this game.

The Texans are small 1.5-point favorites at home.

Seattle at Dallas

The Seahawks were expected to be an ordinary team that would struggle to reach the .500 mark this season and had little chance of reaching the playoffs.

That was the consensus of a number preseason magazines as well as expert opinions on television and radio. However, head coach Pete Carroll, quarterback Russell Wilson and middle linebacker Bobby Wagner ignored those assessments.

The Seahawks redoubled their efforts on defense, went with Chris Carson as the most important contributor to their running attack, and Wilson was regularly a pinpoint passer when the game was on the line.

The Cowboys pulled away in the mediocre NFC East, and the 1-2 punch of quarterback Dak Prescott and Ezekiel Elliott helped the Cowboys win seven of eight games in the second half of the season.

In addition to Prescott and Elliott, they added ex-Raider wideout Amari Cooper. The Cowboys also have the speed on defense to control the outside throwing lanes, but they will have to contend with the Seahawks' power game if they are going to win this wild-card game as 1.5-point favorites.

L.A. Chargers at Baltimore

The Chargers finished the regular season with the best record in the AFC, but that was not good enough to earn them the AFC West title since the Kansas City Chiefs were able to match their 12-4 mark. Since the Chiefs had the better division record, that gave them the division title and the top seed in the conference.

The Chargers have to go 3,000 miles to play the Ravens, who won the AFC North crown on the final day of the regular season thanks to their victory over the Cleveland Browns.

Philip Rivers has been solid on the road, but he will have to be at his best against the NFL's top-rated defense. He has a sensational receiver in Keenan Allen, and Melvin Gordon is one of the best running backs in the league.

Rookie Lamar Jackson has taken over at quarterback for the Ravens, and while he is not a finished product, Baltimore has responded to his leadership. Jackson has started seven games this season and the Ravens have won six of them. 

He has passed for 1,201 yards with a 6-3 TD-interception ratio, but Jackson is a better runner than receiver at this point with 695 rushing yards and five touchdowns.

Linebacker C.J. Mosley leads the Ravens with 105 tackles, while Za'Darius Smith has a team-high 8.5 sacks.

The Ravens defeated the Chargers on the road in Week 16, and they are three-point favorites over the visitors.