Bears and 49ers TV, Radio, Streaming, Betting

San Francisco 49ers (2-4) at Chicago Bears (3-4)

Kickoff: Noon, Sunday, Soldier Field, Chicago

TV: Fox (Adam Amin, Greg Olsen, Pam Oliver)

TV Streaming: Fox on fuboTV, free trial

Radio: WBBM AM-780, FM-105.9 (Jeff Joniak, Tom Thayer, Mark Grote)

National Radio: ESPN (Marc Kestecher, Tom Waddle, Ian Fitzsimmons).

Spanish Radio: TUDN AM-1200, Latino Mix FM-93.5 (Omar Ramos, Miguel Esparza)

The line: 49ers by 3 1/2 (over/under 39 1/2). Betting information at SI.com

BearDigest.com Pick: 49ers 20, Bears 13

Bilal Nichols fined for the punch he threw at Ryan Jensen. https://t.co/jSk4RfHJZ1
— ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) October 31, 2021

BearDigest Record to date: 6-1 (7-0 vs. the spread)

The Series: 68th meeting, San Francisco leads 34-32-1. The Bears won the last game 14-9 at Santa Clara, Calif. in 2018. The 49ers won the last game in Chicago, 15-14 in 2017.

The Coaches: 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan is 31-39 in his fifth season and is 1-1 against the Bears.

Matt Nagy (31-24 in fourth season) will not coach the Bears as he is in the league's COVID-19 protocol. Special teams coordinator Chris Tabor will coach the Bears, his first NFL game as a head coach.

Last Week: The 49ers lost their fourth straight, 30-18, and turned the ball over a season-high four times, including two interceptions of Jimmy Garoppolo. The 49ers were held to 280 net yards and converted just 1 of 11 on third down.

The Bears were buried by Tampa Bay 38-3 as Tom Brady threw three touchdown passes to go over 600 for his career, the NFL record (601). Bears quarterback Justin

Injuries: The 49ers are without S Jaquiski Tartt (knee), DT Javon Kinlaw, DL Maurice Hurst (calf) and both LB Azeez Al-Shaair and DL Dee Ford are in the concussion protocol.

The Bears are without OLB Khalil Mack (foot), RB David Montgomery (IR, knee) and RT Germain Ifedi (IR, knee). They expect to have back DE Akiem Hicks back (groin). OLB Robert Quinn (COVID-19) returns.

What to watch: Can the 49ers cut down on all their pass interference penalties? They have had 14 of them and 11 were accepted for 250 yards. It's a Halloween homecoming for Garoppolo, who is from Rolling Meadows, Ill. The 49ers are looking for him to cut back on all the turnovers. They'll have QB Trey Lance back healthy this week to handle specific offensive packages, much the way the Bears used Fields early in the season.

Do the Bears handle the loss of Nagy to COVID-19 well? How well does Fields bounce back from his worst game in terms of turnovers? He came back in a big way after a similar disaster against Cleveland when he was sacked nine times and led wins over Detroit and Las Vegas. Can the Bears compensate for losing Mack? Trevis Gipson (2 sacks) replaces him in the lineup to team with Quinn.

Matching Up: The 49ers are 18th on offense, 12th rushing and 19th passing. San Francisco is sixth on defense, fifth against the pass and 20th against the run.

The Bears are 32nd (last) on offense, sixth in rushing and 32nd (last) passing. On defense they are 11th, eighth against the pass and 20th against the run

Notable: 49ers RB Elijah Mitchell has two 100-yard games and would tie Billy Kilmer (1961) for the most 49ers 100-yard games by a rookie with a 100-yard effort. ... In the last three games, the 49ers have converted an NFL worst 16.7% of their third downs. ... The 49ers have allowed 397 points off turnovers in the 4 1/2 seasons Shanahan has been coach, the most in the NFL. ... The Bears are the only team in the NFL averaging more yards rushing (131) than passing (124.4). ... The Bears have 22 sacks, tied for the NFL lead with the Minnesota Vikings. ... Bears linebacker Roquan Smith is third in the NFL with 75 tackles. ... In the last four weeks, the Bears have the second-most rushing attempts in the NFL (131) and the third-most rushing yards (614). Cairo Santos' Bears record streak of 35 straight field goals is the longest active streak in the league.

Key Individual Matchups

Bears CB Jaylon Johnson vs. 49ers WR Deebo Samuel

The movement continues for Johnson, who has been fixed on the opponent's best receiver in several games with mixed results. Deebo Samuel isn't the well-established superstar receiver Johnson has covered recently like Davante Adams but is explosive enough. Without Samuel, the 49ers offense would be in big trouble as the loss of Eric Kittle has weighed heavily on the attack. Samuel at 6-foot, 215 pound physically isn't someone who will outmuscle Johnson but the combination of his size, reach and speed is explosive and the Niners use him everywhere, outside on either side and in the slot, even the backfield. Samuel's current total of four TD catches is a career high and his 17.1 yards per catch is easily his career best. He has 38 receptions for 648 yards and in four of the six games has had at least 93 receiving yards. Johnson's Pro Football Focus grade has dropped sharply since the Bears started moving him all over the field but his stat line hasn't been bad at all. According to Sportradar, he's only giving up 48.7% completions when targeted, a drop from his rookie year (56.4%). His passer rating against of 85.2 is better than last year, as well. His passes defensed has dropped off and he hasn't had one in the last three games.

Bears OLB Trevis Gipson vs. 49ers RT Mike McGlinchey

With Khalil Mack healthy the best the Bears could hope for against McGlinchey is a stalemate but Mack is out and this looks like a mismatch. McGlinchey, the former Notre Dame standout, is a guard converted to tackle because of his abilities. Gipson's biggest strength has been his pass rush but he hasn't been stout against the run and McGlinchey is at his best blocking the run. The 49er's play-action passing comes off of that run. Gipson showed some progress early in the year with a few sacks but offensive lines adjusted.

Bears RT Elijah Wilkinson vs. 49ers LDE Arik Armstead

Wilkinson returns from the COVID-19 list and has been a solid run blocker, although he has struggled a bit as a pass blocker. He is Germain Ifedi's backup, but it's also possible the Bears will start rookie Larry Borom, who just came off injured reserve. Armstead had 10 sacks in the 49ers' Super Bowl year and has never had more than 3 1/2 in any other season. He has a sack and two quarterback hits this year and averages 2.3 tackles a game, by far his worst average since becoming a starter in 2018. Armstead is 6-foot-7, 290 and the powerful rookie, Borom, would be a stronger challenge for him to handle in the running game. Fields tends to get passes tipped thrown in the vicinity of the edge rusher and at 6-7 Armstead has to be watched for this.

Bears TE Cole Kmet vs. 49ers LB Tyrell Adams

49ers strong side linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair is in the concussion protocol and was allowing onyly 5.8 yards per reception but Adams has been on the field for only 20 defensive plays and in one game this year. He has had only one season as a starter since coming into the league in 2016 with the Raiders. Kmet has 19 receptions but still is not getting the downfield receptions the Bears need, although his 9.1 yards per catch is better than last year (8.7).

Bears WR Darnell Mooney vs. 49ers CB Josh Norman

If Robinson and Justin Fields are not yet synched up, this would be a week to get it done because Norman has struggled as the starting right cornerback for the 49ers. Norman is graded by Pro Football Focus as 97th against the pass of 112 cornerbacks. It would not be a surprise then to see the 49ers move Emmanuel Moseley off his left side over to cover Robinson or have him on Robinson all over the field. Moseley is one of the better cornerbacks in the league this year and Robinson is still the chief Bears threat, even if they haven't used him correctly. It will become Mooney, who actually has been the most effective Bears receiver, trying to beat Norman, who is rated 97th of 112 cornerbacks graded against the pass by Pro Football Focus. Norman is the stop-gap corner for the 49ers after a career that was at a peak in Carolina and Washington from 2012-2019. He has struggled this year, allowing a 135.4 passer rating against when targeted, and two touchdown passes. Norman turns 34 in December and whether he can keep up with either of the top two Bears receivers has to be questioned.

Bears G James Daniels vs. 49ers DT Kentavius Street

Street wouldn't be getting as much playing time with a healthy Javon Kinlaw. Street is a bit undersized for a defensive tackle, compared with those Daniels has faced on a regular basis. Not exactly a gigantic mauler himself at guard when he came into the league, Daniels has been part of the bulk-up, muscle-up approach the offensive line has used this year and the 6-foot-4, right guard is up in weight by about 20 pounds to 327. Street has 15 tackles, three for loss but only an overall Pro Football Focus grade of 54.1. When teams run behind their right guard at the Niners, they're gaining 5.58 yards an attempt. That's a good chunk for an interior line area and the 49ers are only 28th in the league at stopping runs in that spot. Daniels hasn't been the best Bears blocker but he has been consistent in the run game in the last three games.

Bears DE Akiem Hicks vs. 49ers RG Daniel Brunskill

Brunskill is one of the lighter guards in the league at 6-5, 300 and that was after he bulked up some. He has excellent technique but isn't enjoying the kind of year he has in the past in terms of Pro Football Focus grades, having slipped to 45th among guards. Hicks was held out of last week's game because of the groin injury he suffered four weeks ago against Detroit, then aggravated by playing against Green Bay. At full strength Hicks is a nightmare for a lighter guard, and his bull rush can be devastating. Brunskill has a PFF pass-blocking grade of 50.5, 58th out of 74 guards graded by PFF.

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