Chicago Bears at San Francisco 49ers Odds
The 4-4 Chicago Bears take on the 3-5 San Francisco 49ers at Monster Park in the second Thursday night game of the season in a Week 10 NFC battle. Both teams shot out of the shoot fast but have since tailed off. Last week, Cardinals QB Kurt Warner torched the Bears with five touchdowns strikes as Arizona won 41-21 at Soldier Field. Meanwhile, the 49ers became the second straight team to fall to the Titans, losing 34-27 largely due to four Alex Smith giveaways. These two teams last met in the 2006 season with Chicago rolling 41-10. The win was the Bears fourth in the last five meetings. NFL odds makers have listed the San Francisco 49ers as 3-point favorites with the total set at 43.5.
The Chicago defense was supposed to be back this season, but it has been plagued by injuries, and none more costly than the loss of linebacker Brian Urlacher. The defense has especially struggled in defending the pass as it has not been able to mount a consistent pass rush and the secondary lacks any star power. The good news for Chicago this week is that the 49ers are not a great passing team.
Recent Bears playoff teams all had one thing in common, strong special teams play and a big play defense. In fact, the Bears have scored at least six special teams/defensive touchdowns every year since 2004. This has helped them win games even when the offense was failing them. But the Bears have only come up with two non-offensive touchdowns so far this season. The Bears could certainly benefit from some big plays on the defensive side of the football and with special teams Thursday night, but the bottom line is the offense needs to be better. That starts by being able to run the football. Chicago has only made it over 100 yards rushing in two games this season and both were wins. It is worth noting that the Bears are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games following a straight up loss of more than 14 points.
The last time the Bears played in San Francisco back in the 2003 season, they were crushed 49-7. This current 49ers team doesn’t figure to be able to lay a whooping on anyone like that, but they’ll take a win any way they can get it to end their four-game skid. The most important thing for the 49ers this week is ball security and that starts with QB Alex Smith. Smith has all the physical gifts you could want in a QB. He has a strong arm and his athletic ability enables him to make plays outside the pocket. But throughout his career, he has shown a tendency for making too many mistakes. Last week, he threw three interceptions and lost a fumble, largely costing his team a win. Chicago’s offense is only averaging 16.0 points per game on the road so a major key will be not giving the Bears good scoring opportunities with costly turnovers. It is worth noting that the home team is 5-1 ATS in their last 6 meetings.
