Will the Californians live up to their role as favourites?

The Chicago Bears start the 102nd NFL season with a home game at Soldier Field against the San Francisco 49ers. For the team from Illinois, this season is under a special star. The franchise, founded in 1919, is in a state of upheaval. With plenty of new personnel and, among other things, a new head coach, there are many question marks before the start of the season.

The opponents in week one are the San Francisco 49ers from the sunshine state of California. The team from the Bay Area, which made it to the NFC Championship Game last season after a good regular season, naturally has big changes. The main one is of course the change at the playmaker position, because with this personnel the season of the Niners stands and falls.

In the game Chicago Bears vs. San Francisco 49ers, odds of 1.33 can be found at the top for a success of the team from the West Coast. This shows that the bookmakers do not give the home side much chance of success. Kickoff at Soldier Field on Sunday evening is 19:00 German time.

Chicago Bears – Statistics & current form

A turbulent offseason is coming to an end. If the squads of the 32 teams were compared on paper, the Bears would probably have the weakest squad in the entire league at the start of the season. However, one key personnel distinguishes the team, coached by rookie head coach Matt Eberflus, from other teams that opted to rebuild.

With Fields into the future?

This one is Justin Fields, is 23 years old, was drafted eleventh overall to Chicago in the 2021 draft, and is entering his second NFL season. A team that decides to rebuild in the NFL usually doesn’t have a good and possibly long-term solution at the quarterback position. Fields, however, could be just that.

For him, however, the circumstances under which he must direct the game have deteriorated tremendously. The franchise has seen departures of key players at nearly every position, and so the team has taken some steps backward overall and individually. The group of pass receivers is rather below average, which makes it even harder for Fields. The newly formed offensive line also leaves more questions than answers before the start. What is certain is that the good running back duo of David Montgomery and Khalil Herbert will have a big role in the offense.

The Bears also lost a lot of quality on the defensive side. First and foremost, of course, is superstar Khalil Mack. Among other things, this departure will have an impact on the defensive line. Thus, the task of the Bears vs. 49ers will not be easier. A bet on a win for the hosts therefore brings odds of up to 3.60 at the top.

Key Players:
QB: Justin Fields
RB: David Montgomery
WR: Darnell Mooney
TE: Cole Kmet
K: Cairo Santos

San Francisco 49ers – Statistics & current form

Eight positions ahead of Justin Fields in the same draft, Trey Lance went off the board. The 49ers sent three first-round picks to Miami to jump to position three, paying a very expensive price for that upgrade. But that position then allowed the team from California to pick their playmaker of choice from the strong rookie quarterback class. The choice fell on Lance and since then a cautious hype has developed.

Will the Bay Area become the Trey Area?

Last season, Lance was allowed to learn behind established starting quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo and only made three appearances. In none of his starts could he really convince. In the upcoming season he has to prove that the price the 49ers paid for him was worth it. An NFL team’s season stands and falls with the performance of a quarterback, and so there is a lot of weight on the shoulders of the 22-year-old. If he can deliver solid performances, much like his predecessor, San Francisco can go far again this season.

In preparation, however, the main focus was on the offensive line. The 49ers lost some personnel there in the offseason and this became clearly visible in the preseason. In the last game before the start of the season, the offensive line was unable to protect Trey Lance in almost any situation. That caused head coach Kyle Shanahan to bench Lance earlier than planned to avoid risking injury.

The rest of the team, however, has stayed together at its core, giving the boys in red and gold a baseline that ensures they can at least compete for second place in the tight NFC West. Nick Bosa’s defence has its strength up front and will likely be able to prove it against Chicago’s new-look offensive line early in the season.

For the Niners, the Bears are a good first test of how well Trey Lance works. We are optimistic and therefore trust the San Francisco 49ers to score three touchdowns in their visit to the Chicago Bears. The betting odds on this settle at 1.71.

Key Players:
QB: Trey Lance
RB: Elijah Mitchell
WR: Deebo Samuel
TE: Geoge Kittle
K: Robbie Gould

Chicago Bears – San Francisco 49ers Head-to-head comparison / H2H record

The two teams also met at Soldier Field last season. At that time, the guests were similarly favoured as before the upcoming duel. In the home game, the Bears lost to the 49ers with 22:33, so it is realistic to predict that the team from the West Coast will win again. Especially as the odds for the upcoming encounter are even clearer.

With 55 points, the last encounter was clearly higher-scoring than many duels before. Over 50 points have only been scored in five of the 15 games between the Bears and 49ers since 1995. A bet on fewer points being scored again will only bring odds of around 1.26 on the betting slip.

Chicago Bears – San Francisco 49ers Tip

We predict a good performance for the visitors from San Francisco, because there seem to be too many question marks with the Bears at the moment. Many cogs have to mesh in the revamped team and that will not be the case in week one. That’s why our prediction in the Chicago Bears vs. San Francisco 49ers game is that the Niners will visit the Bears’ end zone at least three times. We think the betting odds are attractive in this case.

We don’t trust the Bears’ offence, and especially their offensive line, enough to give the team serious chances. But at the beginning of the season, a few scenarios are conceivable. At bookmaker betano, the point limit for the home side is 16.5 points. We can well imagine the home side reaching this mark.

Between the Bears and the 49ers, there are even higher odds on the Californians winning by at least eight points. That also seems totally possible if the offense around Trey Lance works.