Chicago Bears and San Francisco 49ers TV, Radio, Streaming
San Francisco 49ers (2-4) against the Chicago Bears (3-4)
Kicking off: Noon, Sunday, Soldier Field, Chicago
TV: Fox (Adam Amin, Greg Olsen, Pam Oliver)
TV streaming: Fox on fuboTV, free trial
Radio: WBBM AM-780, FM 105.9 (Jeff Joniak, Tom Thayer, Mark Grote)
National radio: ESPN (Marc Kestecher, Tom Waddle, Ian Fitzsimmons).
Spanish radio: TUDN AM-1200, Latino-Mix FM-93.5 (Omar Ramos, Miguel Esparza)
The line: 49ers by 3 1/2 (over / under 39 1/2). Betting information at SI.com
BearDigest.com selection: 49er 20, bears 13
Previous BearDigest record: 6-1 (7-0 vs. spread)
The series: 68th meeting, San Francisco leads 34-32-1. The Bears won their last game in Santa Clara, California, 14-9 in 2018. The 49ers won the last game in Chicago at 15:14 in 2017.
The trainers: 49ers manager Kyle Shanahan is 31-39 in his fifth season and stands 1-1 against the Bears.
Matt Nagy (31-24 in Season Four) will not be training the Bears as he is on the league’s COVID-19 log. Special teams coordinator Chris Tabor will coach the Bears, his first NFL game as head coach.
Last week:
The 49ers lost their fourth series in a row 30:18, spinning the ball over a season high four times, including two interceptions from Jimmy Garoppolo. The 49ers were held to 280 net yards, only converting 1 out of 11 to third place.
The Bears were buried 38-3 at Tampa Bay when Tom Brady threw three touchdown passes to go over 600 for his career, the NFL record (601). Bear quarterback Justin
Injuries: The 49ers are without S Jaquiski Tartt (knee), DT Javon Kinlaw, DL Maurice Hurst (calf) and both LB Azeez Al-Shaair and DL Dee Ford are on the concussion log.
The Bears are without OLB Khalil Mack (foot), RB David Montgomery (IR, knee) and RT Germain Ifedi (IR, knee). They expect DE Akiem Hicks (groin) to be back. OLB Robert Quinn (COVID-19) returns.
What to see: Can the 49ers all reduce their pass interference penalties? You had 14 of them and 11 were accepted for 250 yards. It’s a Halloween homecoming for Garoppolo, who hails from Rolling Meadows, Illinois. The 49ers are looking for him to cut all sales. You will have QB Trey Lance back healthy this week to handle certain offensive packages, much like the Bear Fields used at the start of the season.
Are the bears dealing well with the COVID-19 loss of Nagy? How well is Fields recovering from his worst game in terms of sales? He came back on a grand scale after a similar disaster against Cleveland, when he was sacked nine times and spearheaded wins against Detroit and Las Vegas. Can the bears make up for Mack’s loss? Trevis Gipson (2 sacks) replaces him in the line-up to work with Quinn.
Match: The 49ers are 18th on the offensive, 12th when rushing and 19th when passing. San Francisco is sixth on the defensive, fifth on the pass and 20th on the run.
The bears are 32nd (last) on the offensive, sixth in rushing and 32nd (last) pass. In defense they are 11th, 8th against the pass and 20th against the barrel
Remarkable: 49ers RB Elijah Mitchell has two 100-yard games and would tie Billy Kilmer (1961) for most 49ers 100-yard games by a 100-yard rookie. … In the last three games, the 49ers have converted the worst 16.7% of their third downs in the NFL. … The 49ers have allowed 397 points less sales in the 4 1/2 seasons Shanahan coached, most in the NFL. … The Bears are the only team in the NFL that has an average of more yards of rushing (131) than passing (124.4). … The Bears have 22 sacks tied for the NFL lead with the Minnesota Vikings. … Bear’s linebacker Roquan Smith is third in the NFL with 75 tackles. … In the past four weeks, the Bears have made the second most rushing attempts in the NFL (131) and the third most rushing yards (614). The record series of the Bears of Cairo Santos with 35 field goals in a row is the longest active series in the league.
Important individual matchups
Bears CB Jaylon Johnson vs. 49ers WR Deebo Samuel
The movement continues for Johnson, who has been fixated on the opponent’s best receiver in multiple mixed-result games. Deebo Samuel isn’t the established superstar receiver Johnson recently covered, like Davante Adams, but he’s explosive enough. Without Samuel, the 49ers offense would be in big trouble as the loss of Eric Kittle put a heavy strain on the attack. Samuel at 6 feet, 215 pounds is not physically someone who will overtake Johnson, but the combination of his size, range and speed is explosive and the Niners use him everywhere, outside on both sides and in the slot, even in the backcourt. Samuel’s current total of four TD catches is a career high and his 17.1 yards per catch is by far his best careers. He has 38 receptions for 648 yards and in four of the six games he has had at least 93 yards. Johnson’s Pro Football Focus grade has fallen sharply since the Bears started moving him all over the field, but his stats haven’t been bad at all. According to Sportradar, he only gives up 48.7% deals when targeted, a decrease from his rookie year (56.4%). His registration score is also better than last year at 85.2. His defended passes have fallen and he hasn’t had one in the last three games.
Bears OLB Trevis Gipson vs. 49ers RT Mike McGlinchey
If Khalil Mack is healthy, the best the Bears can hope for against McGlinchey is a stalemate, but Mack is out and that looks like a disparity. McGlinchey, the former Notre Dame Standout, is a Guardian who was converted to tackle because of his skills. Gipson’s greatest strength was his pass frenzy, but he hasn’t been strong against the barrel and McGlinchey is best at blocking the barrel. The 49ers play-action passing game comes from this run. Gipson showed some progress with some sacks earlier this year, but the offensive lines have been adjusted.
Bears RT Elijah Wilkinson vs. 49ers LDE Arik Armstead
Coming back from the COVID-19 list, Wilkinson has been a solid run blocker, though struggling a little as a pass blocker. He’s Germain Ifedi’s backup, but it’s also possible the Bears will start rookie Larry Borom, who just came out of injured reserve. Armstead had 10 sacks in the 49ers Super Bowl year and more than 3 1/2 in any other season. He’s got a sack and two quarterback hits this year and averaging 2.3 tackles per game, by far his worst average since starting out as a starter in 2018. Armstead is 6-foot-7,290 and the mighty rookie Borom would be one greater challenge for him to handle while the game is in progress. Fields tend to get tilted passes near the Edge Rusher and care must be taken at 6-7 Armstead.
Bears TE Cole Kmet vs. 49ers LB Tyrell Adams
49ers strong linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair is on concussion log, allowing only 5.8 yards per reception, but Adams was only on the field for 20 defensive games and one game this year. He’s only had one season as a starter since joining the league with the Raiders in 2016. Kmet has 19 receptions but still isn’t getting the downfield receptions the bears need, even though his 9.1 yards per catch is better than last year (8.7).
Bears WR Darnell Mooney vs. 49ers CB Josh Norman
If Robinson and Justin Fields aren’t synced yet, it would be a week to get it done as Norman struggled as the starting right cornerback for the 49ers. Norman is ranked 97th against the pass of 112 cornerbacks by Pro Football Focus. It would then be no surprise to see the 49ers move Emmanuel Moseley away from his left to cover Robinson or to have him all over the field on Robinson. Moseley is one of the better cornerbacks in the league this year and Robinson is still the Bears’ main threat even if they haven’t used him properly. It becomes Mooney who was actually the most effective Bears receiver trying to beat Norman, who is rated 97th out of 112 cornerbacks rated against the pass by Pro Football Focus. Norman is the bridging corner for the 49ers after a career that peaked in Carolina and Washington from 2012 to 2019. He’s struggled this year, allowing a 135.4 pass rating when targeted and two touchdown passes. Norman will turn 34 in December and whether he can compete with either of the Bears’ two top recipients remains to be seen.
Bears G James Daniels vs. 49ers DT Kentavius Street
Street wouldn’t get that much playtime with a healthy Javon Kinlaw. Street is a little too small for a defensive tackle compared to those Daniels has been confronted with on a regular basis. When he got into the league, Daniels wasn’t exactly a gigantic hacker himself, wary of about £ 20 to £ 327. Street has 15 tackles, three for the loss, but only an overall Pro Football Focus rating of 54.1. At the Niners, when the teams run behind their right guard, they gain 5.58 yards per attempt. That’s a good part for an inside line area and the 49ers are only 28th in the league when it comes to stopping runs at that point. Daniels wasn’t the best Bears blocker, but he has been consistent in the running game for the last three games.
Bears DE Akiem Hicks vs. 49ers RG Daniel Brunskill
Brunskill is one of the easier guards in the league at 6-5, 300, and that was after fluffing up a bit. He has excellent technique but isn’t enjoying the kind of year he’s had in the past on Pro Football Focus grades as he slipped to 45th with the Guards. Hicks was banned from the game last week with a groin injury sustained against Detroit four weeks ago, which was then exacerbated by the Green Bay game. At full strength, Hicks is a nightmare for a lighter guard, and his onslaught can be devastating. Brunskill has a PFF Pass Blocking Grade of 50.5, 58th out of 74 PFF rated guards.
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