Predicting the Final Score of the 49ers-Bears Week 1 Game

CHICAGO -- Don't expect an exciting, high-scoring game.

It will be raining in Chicago, the Bears have a terrible offense and the 49ers most likely won't have George Kittle. Technically, the 49ers list him as questionable for the game, which means there's a 50/50 chance he'll play. But he wasn't healthy enough to participate in a walk through on Friday. How will he be healthy enough to play in a football game just two days later? I don't buy it.

Assuming Kittle won't play, the 49ers probably won't score many points. But they won't need to. Their defense will win the game for them. Their offense simply needs to run the ball and not turn it over. Call it a safety-first game plan against a terrible opponent.

The only way the 49ers lose this game is if they beat themselves, and the only way they'll beat themselves is with turnovers on offense or mistakes on special teams. The 49ers' entire goal will be to minimize those mistakes.

I don't expect the 49ers will ask much from Trey Lance in his first start of the season. He has hardly played the past two years, plus he threw merely 16 passes in the preseason. It's possible he'll throw no more than 16 passes in this game.

The 49ers are 6.5-point favorites, a line that surprisingly hasn't moved all week while Kittle missed practices. I'm picking the Bears to cover the spread, because I don't think Kittle will play, and I don't think Lance will pass a ton.

But I still expect the 49ers to win. I expect them to run the ball well, score one touchdown on offense, kick three field goals and control the game from start to finish with their defense.

Final score prediction: 49ers 16, Bears 10.