Illinois bettor places $1,000 wager on Bears QB Justin Fields to win MVP

It is easy for Chicago Bears fans to get excited about the potential of second-year quarterback, but did one fan get a bit carried away this week?

Ben Fawkes of VSiN reported on Wednesday that one Illinois bettor placed a $1,000 wager on Fields to win this year’s NFL MVP award at 200/1 odds at Caesars Sportsbook. Since Caesars Sportsbook is the official odds partner of Bet Chicago Sports, my hope is that this player at least used our new-user offer to sign up before placing this bet.

Even if the player didn’t, however, I can’t help but root for this person. At 200/1, this bet would result in a $200,000 payout if Fields were to win the MVP in his second season in the NFL. Fields is now currently listed at 150/1 to win the award at Caesars Sportsbook.

Look, we all know that Fields winning this award is a long shot. But, as someone sitting on the same ticket, allow me to make the case for a minute.

The season opener took place in unfavorable conditions on a rainy day at Soldier Field. It was certainly a bad day to play the position, but Fields still came through with the game-changing plays necessary to lead the Bears to a 19-10 victory over the San Francisco 49ers.

Fields finished 8-of-17 for 121 yards to go along with two touchdowns and one interception in Week 1. He seemed to find a rhythm in the second half, which is when both of his touchdown tosses took place. J.T. O’Sullivan (@theqbschool) broke the game down on his Youtube page, and I would highly recommend watching it to get a better sense of how impressive Fields’ play was.

Fields and the Bears absolutely have a long way to go before he can join the MVP race, but it isn’t necessarily impossible. We’ve seen both Patrick Mahomes and Lamar Jackson recently win the same award in their second season in the league.

This is a narrative-driven award, and it typically is given to the quarterback on a team that wins a lot of games. Seven of the past nine winners were on teams that finished as the top seed in their respective conference. The other two MVP winners were on teams that claimed a No. 2 seed, which would have been good enough for a bye at the time before the league switched to a 14-team playoff.

The Bears already have one upset win under their belt, but it might prove to be more difficult moving forward. They are a 10-point underdog against the Green Bay Packers in Week 2, so it will take an even bigger stunner on Sunday Night Football to keep the dream of this Fields’ MVP wager alive.