With a combined total of three wins, all that the San Francisco 49ers and Chicago Bears have to play for this season is draft positioning. These once proud franchises have fallen on hard times and enter their Week 13 showdown looking to stay ahead of Cleveland in the overall standings, and that would drop them in the draft pecking order. The Niners would of course like to end their team record losing streak, which reached 10 following a loss in Miami.
This contest in Week 13 of the regular season will go down Sunday, December 4, 2016, at 1 p.m. ET at Soldier Field.
NFL Odds at BookMaker.eu
San Francisco 49ers +2.5
Chicago Bears -2.5
Over/Under 43
Odds Analysis
Sharp action forced a quick spike in the spread with the Bears going from a 1-point favorite at the opening to 2.5-point chalk. Both teams have been terrible against the spread and we could see more movement in the line before this one kicks off. Chicago is 0-3 SU and ATS when playing as the favorite, but they get a Niners team that is on the ropes after yet another loss.
Injury Report
Quinton Patton – The Niners will be without one of their starting receivers after Patton sustained a concussion in the Dolphins game. San Francisco’s passing attack is one of the worst in the NFL and the loss of Patton will allow the Bears to concentrate a bit more on stopping Colin Kaepernick and the run game.
Danny Trevathan – The hits just keep coming for the Bears when Trevathan was knocked out of Sunday’s game with a knee injury. The already thin group of linebackers will miss their leader, who could be done for the year. His loss opens up the middle of the Bears defense and leaves them susceptible to the scrambling and running ability of Kaepernick.
Matchup to Watch
The Niners have shown improvement on the offensive side of the football and that’s likely because Kaepernick has grown into the starting role in Chip Kelly’s offense after backing up Blaine Gabbert for most of the first half of the year. Kaepernick is more of a threat running the football than throwing it, and he had a monster day against the Dolphins, running for 113 yards on 10 carries. It’s not the most conventional way to run an offense, but it has worked and the Niners nearly eked out a victory over the Fins.
Kaepernick still has difficulty completing deeper throws and his inconsistent play has kept the offense from moving beyond its poor numbers. However, his running ability has opened things up in the passing game and he faces a Bears defense that is minus several key players. Trevathan joined a growing list of defenders on the injured list and the Bears had a tough time trying to slow down Marcus Mariota, who ran for 46 yards on four attempts and threw for 226 yards and a pair of scores. Kaepernick isn’t Mariota, but he has some of the skills, especially in the mobility department.
Free ATS Pick
The Bears were a catch away from pulling off a big comeback win over the Titans, but several dropped passes, including three in the end zone, prevented Chicago from doing just that. It wasn’t the best game for Matt Barkley in his first career start, but he gave the team a chance only to be let down by his receivers. Barkley will get another start in place of the injured Jay Cutler and with some help the outcome will be different.
While the Niners concentrated on stopping the run in Miami, they allowed Ryan Tannehill to pick them apart in another letdown game by the defense. Chicago hasn’t scored more than 23 points in a game all season but with Jordan Howard continuing to shine in the backfield and Barkley showing improvement in the second half of the Tennessee game, that streak could end against the worst scoring defense in the NFL. Chicago must contain Kaepernick and prevent him from escaping the pocket. Look for former S.F. defensive coordinator Vic Fangio to dial something up against his old team and the Bears to produce offensively to come away with a cover win at home.
NFL Odds: Bears 27, 49ers 23
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