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Week 17: Bears at 49ers Sunday SNF 7;20 on NBC

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BigSlick South Bend Cubs

BigSlick

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Our defensive line sucks - this is our main issue and i think will continue being our achilles heel until whenever we do hit a wall in the postseason

we knock out Love and Jacobs can't continue and the Packers are running all over us. Willis barely needs to pass because they can just run up the middle or run option plays that we can't do anything against. I'd be shocked if this Niners team doesn't put 30+ on us.

 

And to be clear - I'm insanely optimistic and thrilled about this team! We're in the 99th percentile of possibilities for where this team was to start off with! Things almost couldn't be going better! But we're in deep trouble against competent, professional offenses if we don't get turnovers. 

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BigbadB First Round Pick

BigbadB

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13 hours ago, NorthsideAvenger said:

I'm hoping Walker can become a decent weapon. 

He was great in preseason. I think he easily replaces Zaccheaus starting next year. I think he definitely showed enough last week to get some targets this week. It's going to be an air show Sunday night. 

Geographyhater8888 First Round Pick

Geographyhater8888

Old-Timey Member
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Posted (edited)
On 12/24/2025 at 10:33 AM, BigSlick said:

Our defensive line sucks - this is our main issue and i think will continue being our achilles heel until whenever we do hit a wall in the postseason

we knock out Love and Jacobs can't continue and the Packers are running all over us. Willis barely needs to pass because they can just run up the middle or run option plays that we can't do anything against. I'd be shocked if this Niners team doesn't put 30+ on us.

 

And to be clear - I'm insanely optimistic and thrilled about this team! We're in the 99th percentile of possibilities for where this team was to start off with! Things almost couldn't be going better! But we're in deep trouble against competent, professional offenses if we don't get turnovers. 

They badly miss Gordon’s speed in the secondary. The bend but don’t break exposed the underneath all game. Pass rush is a priority but they lack speed at safety too.

Edited by Geographyhater8888
raw Myrtle Beach Pelicans

raw

Community Moderator
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All these games, I feel like the majority of people are like "yeah the Bears probably can't go in *insert city* and win" and then the Bears either do, or are really close to doing like in Green Bay. 

The SF beat writers think no Kittle this week, which works out in the Bears favor because they historically struggle against TEs and Kittle has been the best one in the league for the last 2 months. He hasn't had less than 67 yards in any game since Nov 3rd and has 5 total TDs in that time span. Even if he does play, he won't be 100%.

McCaffery hasn't been McCaffery for most of the season, but he's also been healthy and had one of his best games of the season last week. He is a very tough matchup for the Bears, especially if TJ and/or Edmunds are not 100%. But Sunday was only his 4th game averaging more than 4 yards per carry. So if the Bears can manage to stop him the way a lot of teams have this year, they'll make the Niners one-dimensional. Granted, Shanahan will not stop running the ball and McCaffery is more dangerous as a receiver, but the point is, this isn't the same 49ers OL of old. Purdy is actually the best QB in the league at avoiding sacks, but the OL does allow a decent amount of pressure and Purdy can be rushed into a bad throw or 2. 

On the other side, the Niners somehow have a worse pass rush than the Bears. That has led to a bottom 8 pass defense, which you hope Caleb can take advantage of for a full 4 quarters. The Niners did just allow big games on both opposite ends of the spectrum to rookie Cam Ward and then to a guy who last played when Ward was a college freshman. Not expecting Caleb to throw for 400 or anything, but I expect a much more efficient game passing than we are used to. And if Caleb does manage 300+ then 4000 comes into the picture in Week 18.

This is a very positive preview, but not going to assume the Bears will win this game at all. They are going to likely have to put up 30+ to win this game, and they haven't been consistent enough most days to do that, despite averaging nearly 26 per game. They've only scored more than 31 against the lowly Bengals D and needed all 47 of those points. Fortunately, they probably can count on Purdy giving them a turnover or two, but they can't afford to squander them or have drives slowed down by stupid penalties. 

Soul MVP

Soul

Old-Timey Member
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Posted

Not having Kittle would be a big boost for us.  I was assuming he would gut it out.  These last two games are critical and the 1 seed is still on the table.

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