San Francisco 49ers vs Chicago Bears Predictions, Odds, Picks

• Last week the 49ers got soaked in a downpour while losing to the Colts, 18-30
• Bears only managed to put three points on the scoreboard last Sunday against Tampa 
• Chicago has won the first quarter in all of their last six home games.

49ers vs Bears Week 8 Odds

Odds  for 49ers vs Bears Week 8 game taken from DraftKings Sportsbook

Not only did the San Francisco 49ers get creamed last Sunday night, they also got soaked in a torrential downpour as the Colts outscored them 30-18, and now quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo must prove he is the worthy starter under center over Trey Lance (knee, questionable) as they face a Bears team whose rookie QB best be worried about Niner’s DEs Nick Bosa and Arik Armstead.

Last Sunday, the Chicago Bears only managed to put three points on the scoreboard against Tampa Bay as they lost their fourth game of the season, and now the Bears’ top-10 defense will take on these 49ers in front of a hometown stadium filled with disgruntled Bears fans as the team’s head coach Matt Nagy continues to recover after recently testing positive for COVID-19.

These two NFC rivals have met each other 67 other times (including 3 postseason games), with the Chicago Bears winning 32 of those games and the San Francisco 49ers winning 34 of the games, plus there has been one tie.

49ers vs Bears Week 8 Predictions

Can Bears 32nd Ranked Offense Begin to Improve?

Tough to create a productive offense with a rookie under center, but that’s exactly what the 2021 Chicago Bears are attempting to do with first-year player Justin Fields and the results have that side of the ball ranked last in the league at this point.

The Bears’ offense averages 255 total yards per game, but here’s the odd part of that stat – they rush for more yards a game than they pass, with the team posting about 131 rushing yards per game and just 124 yards through the air resulting in about 14 points per outing.

They are going to need that to improve for them to win this week against a 49ers team that puts about 23 points on the scoreboard every game, so that means Chicago receivers Allen Robinson, Darnell Mooney and slot man Marquise Goodwin plus tight end Kmet Cole must step up and work with Fields to shift those low passing numbers.

Can Niners QB Jimmy Garoppolo Own his Starting Role?

After winning his first two games of the season, 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo has lost all three of his other starts and now healthy he should get the starting nod against San Francisco given that his rookie backup Trey Lance (knee) is still questionable and on the mend.

Garoppolo is often hit or miss if he can stay healthy and on the field, so far this season completing 64.8 percent of his passes, posting 94 completions for 1,106 yards and 6 touchdowns with 4 interceptions.

His career completion percentage is 67 and Jimmy G typically keeps his number of interceptions low, but he must get back to playing like a confident starter if he expects to win the job over his rookie backup who might love to take over that team.

49ers Key Player: (DE) Nick Bosa

A huge key to a San Fran win on Sunday over the Bears (and over any team they play, really) is the play of star defensive end Nick Bosa, a defensive playmaker who has the speed to chase down a scrambling quarterback and the size to take down lineman and rushing backs.

Bosa is a 6’ 4” 266-pound wrecking ball who has been making quarterbacks miserable since his days at OSU and right now he has 5 sacks and 13 quarterback hits plus 23 combined tackles (8 of those for a loss) and a forced fumble on the season.

Expect Bosa and his counterpart DE Arik Armstead to get after Justin Fields all day and make the rookie’s life a living hell, something the two must make happen if the Niners expect to earn their third win of the season.

Bears Key Player: (QB) Justin Fields

For the first part of the season, Bears’ head coach Matt Nagy has told the football world that veteran Andy Dalton was his starter under center, but after Dalton went down to injury rookie Justin Fields has taken over and earned that job.

Now Fields is 2-3 as the starting QB in Chicago and he has had some bright spots and lots of whoopsies, so far with 75 completions of 131 attempts for a completion percentage of 57.3 and 816 yards with just 2 touchdown passes and 6 interceptions.

For this Bears team to start winning more games, Fields must begin to get the ball into the endzone more often by improving his connections with his playmakers and getting more comfortable in the pocket, a tough ask while getting sacked a league-leading 22 times.

How to Watch 49ers vs Bears