The Chicago Bears go on the road to take on the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday at the Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California.
The Chicago Bears aren’t content with winning their division. They want to win out not just to carry momentum but also to give themselves a shot at drawing a first round bye. Chicago’s win over the Los Angeles Rams two weeks ago gave them the tiebreaker over the Rams and should Los Angeles lose to either the Arizona Cardinals or the San Francisco 49ers, Chicago is going to get the bye. That may be a long shot right now but that’s enough motivation for the Bears to win this game.
Mitchell Trubisky has completed 64.9% of his passes and has thrown for a total of 2,814 yards with 23 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. Jordan Howard has rushed for a total of 773 yards with six scores while Tarik Cohen leads Chicago with 68 receptions for 710 yards and 5 touchdowns scored.
When the San Francisco 49ers lost Jimmy Garoppolo and Jerick McKinnon to season ending injuries, they were given up for dead. Well, in a way they are because they are out of playoff contention but the 49ers won’t go away and have continued to fight and hang around with Nick Mullens playing behind center. San Francisco even upset the Broncos and Seahawks in back to back wins at the Levi’s Stadium. That said, while San Francisco is out of it, they aren’t going to be a walk in the park for the Bears.
The undrafted Mullens has thrown for a total of 1,754 yards with 10 touchdowns and 6 interceptions on the season in six games played. Matt Breida has rushed for 794 yards with three touchdowns to lead the ground attack. Tight End George Kittle has caught 1,154 yards on the air with three touchdowns while Dante Pettis also has five TD receptions.
Chicago is 7-1 SU in their last eight games played but the Bears are 3-3 SU in six road games played this season. San Francisco is 3-9 SU in their last dozen games played. The 49ers are 6-3 SU in their last 9 games at home. Head to head, San Francisco is 4-2 SU in their last 6 games against Chicago and the 49ers are 8-1 SU in their last nine home games against the Bears.
No question the 49ers are dangerous because they have nothing to lose and are playing for pride. But that’s not it. All of San Francisco’s four SU wins and three ATS covers have come at the Levi’s Stadium. On the other hand, the Bears also have a legitimate motive to win this game. While Chicago has already clinched their division, they can draw a first round bye if the Rams slip up because they hold the tiebreaker against Los Angeles. That said, the Bears need to win out to have that shot. Going back to San Francisco, every win for them is going to affect their draft position and given that they are out of the playoffs already, that may be the biggest factor in this game. We’re picking the Chicago Bears to beat the San Francisco 49ers on 12/23/18.
Chicago is 7-1 ATS in their last 8 games. The Bears are 3-3 ATS in six road games played this season. San Francisco is 5-9 ATS in 14 games this season. The 49ers are 3-4 ATS in their seven home games played this year. Head to head, the 49ers are 13-5 ATS in their last 18 games against the Bears. San Francisco is 8-1 ATS in their last 9 home games against Chicago.
The Bears are 5-1 ATS in their last six against teams with a losing record. Chicago is 6-1 ATS in their last seven games against the NFC. San Francisco is 7-17-1 ATS in their last 25 games against teams with winning records and 2-6 ATS in their last 8 games against teams with winning records. The 49ers are also 1-5 ATS in their last six games against teams from the NFC. Prediction: Bears -4
The over is 8-6 in Chicago’s 14 games played this season. The total has gone over in four out of Chicago’s last six road games. The over is also 8-6 in San Francisco’s 14 games played so far. The total has gone over in six out of the last nine games played by the 49ers. Head to head, the over is 6-4 in the last 10 meetings between these two teams. The total has also gone over in five out of their last seven meetings in San Francisco.
The over is 6-2 in the Bears’ last eight games following a win. The over is 6-0 in the 49ers last six games following a win. But if you look at Chicago’s last two performances, I think you’ll like the under here. The Bears shut down the Rams to six points and then they also held the Packers and Aaron Rodgers to just 17 points. I think the Bears’ defense dictates this game. Prediction: Under 43.5
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