This unit on the 49ers faces its biggest test of the year Week 17

This unit will make or break the game for the 49ers.

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The San Francisco 49ers run defense has slowly been declining all season. This is going to be a big problem against a Chicago Bears rushing attack that is trending as one of the better groups in the NFL. The winner of this matchup may win the game.  

Can the San Francisco 49ers slow down the Chicago Bears rushing attack?

The Bears have a two-headed monster at running back, and with three new faces from the offseason on their interior, they have a strong offensive front that can plow teams over. That has given them the No. 2 rushing attack in the NFL based on success rate since Week 5. 

The 49ers have only faced two other rushing attacks that rank in the top five. One is the Rams, and we saw how they were able to move the ball on San Francisco. The other is the Indianapolis Colts, and not only were they a different offense for most of the sason, the 49ers allowed 27 points to the worst version of the Colts offense. They didn’t let Jonathan Taylor have a big game, though. 

The 49ers also did well against Bijan Robinson, the last strong rushing attack that they faced. Since Robinson and the Atlanta Falcons, the 49ers faced the 31st, 20th, 27th, 16th, 30th, and 26th best rushing units, with the Rams loss sprinkled into those games. 

So, they have rarely been tested and when they were, they saw poor versions of the offenses that tested them. 

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Considering Caleb Wiliams may be a bit more athletic and more of a playmaker than Michael Penix and Philip Rivers were, it is hard to say that the 49ers can slow down this rushing attack. 

The team did get two significant players back, and they will have a huge say in the outcome of Week 17. Tatum Bethune and Sam Okuayinonu are both strong run defenders, and their absence has been felt, as some of these poor rushing attacks have had success on them. 

Their return was felt against the Colts, and while they are not game-changing players, having them in the lineup does make things a bit easier. 

If the Bears can run the football, they can control the game. They can keep the 49ers on the sidelines on the they can dictate how much scoring happens. The 49ers cannot allow this. This test will show if the run defense is ready for the playoffs.