It feels like the Chicago Bears are playing with house money. A surprisingly successful regular season has been rewarded with an NFC North title and a Wild Card win over the rival Packers. But if you ask the players, they’re hungry for more. Rome Odunze is one of their young talents seeking to prove himself this week against the Los Angeles Rams.
The Rams are 4.5-point favorites for tonight’s matchup at DraftKings Sportsbook with the point total set at 48.5. Below, I’ve detailed my favorite prop bet centered around Rome Odunze.
Best Rome Odunze Prop Bet on DraftKings Sportsbook
Rome Odunze 40+ Receiving Yards (+112)
Odunze is back just in time for the Bears. He missed the entire month of December with a stress fracture in his foot, but managed to fight through it in the Wild Card round against the Packers. He didn’t get the snap count he was used to as he managed the injury. Odunze was on the field for 88% of the regular-season snaps but was held to 69.2% against the Rams. But he did show he can make an impact. Everyone focuses on the throw (and rightfully so), but Odunze was on the receiving end of the play of the year for the Bears.
They’ll need Rome to push through the pain once again if they hope to keep up with the Rams. But he did practice in full this week, and looks to be all systems go despite the questionable designation.
A potential flaw in the Rams’ defense was exposed last week. They did a fine job containing Tetairoa McMillan but were destroyed by Panthers WR2 Jalen Coker. He carved them up for 134 yards and a score on nine catches, regularly toasting CB2 Cobie Durant. Emmanuel Forbes Jr. has been a quality reclamation project at the CB1 spot, but Los Angeles has issues in the secondary that can be exposed.
The injury cannot be discounted in Odunze’s case. A stress fracture is not just a matter of pain tolerance; too much stress can worsen the fracture and jeopardize the foot further. But I think Odunze sees enough of the field (and a big enough target share) to make an impact here with at least 40 receiving yards. All it takes is one incredible Caleb Williams deep ball to cash this one out.
