The Chicago Bears travel west in Week 17 to take on the San Franicsco 49ers at Levi’s Stadium in a showdown between two 11-win geams that are jockeying for NFC playoff supremacy.
Both teams have a lot at stake on Sunday night. The Seattle Seahawks currently hold the No. 1 seed in the NFC, but if the Bears win out and the Seahawks lose one game, Chicago will snag the ever important first-round bye.
The 49ers can also climb to the top of the NFC if they win both of their remaining games (San Francisco squares off against the Seahawks in Week 18).
Translation? The No. 1 seed is very much on the line on Sunday Night Football.
The game within the game will be on the sidelines, with Bears coach Ben Johnson versus 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan, two of the truly elite play callers in the NFL.
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“Shanahan is one of the best, if not the best, in the business in terms of doing this, calling plays at a high level for as long as he has,” Johnson said this week. “He’s probably the first to truly marry that run game and pass game as well as you see some of these other teams doing it now, he was kind of the front-runner on all that stuff. You always like to turn on that San Francisco tape each week, whether you’re playing them or not, just to look at some of the stuff that they’re doing. And it’s changed a little bit. It used to be where they were always the No. 1 team in the NFL in terms of rushing, and it’s not to say they don’t still have that ability — they do — but it’s kind of morphed a little bit. They might be a more dangerous passing team right now. That’s kind of the interesting thing.”
The Bears have a chance to prove on a national stage (again) that they belong in the Super Bowl conversation, but they won’t be at full strength on offense.
Star right tackle Darnell Wright is expected to miss the game with an illness that’s spreading through the Bears’ locker room, and Rome Odunze, the team’s top wideout, will miss his fourth straight game.
There is some good news on the injury front, however. Rookie pass catcher Luther Burden III will return from a foot injury that forced him out of Week 16’s miracle win over the Green Bay Packers.
The Bears’ defense will have their hands full against Brock Purdy and the 49ers, who’ve totaled 85 points over the last two weeks. All-world running back Christian McCaffrey already has over 1,000 rushing yards (1,039) and is tracking to surpass 1,000 receiving yards, too. He enters Week 17 with 849 yards and seven touchdowns as a receiver.
I expect this game to be like most of the Chicago Bears’ games this season: a nail-biter that comes right down to the wire. However, unlike the games in recent weeks, I don’t think the Bears can pull another rabit out of their hat. At least, not on the west coast against a Kyle Shanahan team.
It’ll be a good game; the Bears’ reputation won’t take a hit. But it’s hard to imagine Chicago leaving California with a win.
FINAL SCORE: 49ers 31 Bears 23
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