Jets vs. Bears Odds Move in New York's Favor After Zach Wilson Benched for Mike White

Jets coach Robert Saleh pulled the trigger on one of the most shocking moves of this NFL season, benching the team's 2021 No. 2 overall draft pick Zach Wilson in favor of journeyman backup Mike White. White, not Wilson, will start at quarterback in Week 12 for New York on Sunday against the Chicago Bears.

Equally surprising? Vegas likes the move for the Jets.

Coming into today, the Jets were -4.5 point favorites against the Bears at FanDuel Sportsbook. After the move, their spread increased to -5.5 point favorites. Basically, Vegas is saying White gives the Jets a better chance to beat the Bears by a wider margin than Wilson does.

Hard to disagree with that point given Wilson's performance this season. He's completing an NFL-worst 55.6% of his passes and has thrown 4 TDs against 5 INTs. After a 77-yard performance against the Patriots last week, he was asked if he felt he/the offense let the defense down and said "no." Saleh admitted some teammates were irked by those comments, though it didn't play into the benching.

That's interesting because White isn't much better. In four starts last season, he completed 66.7% of his passes (nice) and threw 5 TDs against 8 INTs (not nice). The Jets went 1-3 in those starts and White was atrocious in two of them (1 TD, 6 INTs combined).

Regardless, it's clear the Jets are displeased with their former top pick's performance and felt it necessary to make a change. Whether White can lead the 6-4 Jets to a win over the Bears, who could be without starting QB Justin Fields, and keep them in the playoff hunt remains to be seen. But it's clear Vegas thinks he's a better quarterback than Wilson right now.

Best NFL Week 12 Odds for Bears vs. Jets

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.