San Francisco 49ers vs. Chicago Bears Odds, Spread, Preview: NFL Week 1 Predictions

49ers vs Bears Week 1 matchup preview and current betting lines

The Chicago Bears host the San Francisco 49ers at Soldier Field Sunday as they hope to finish this season better than last. 2021 wasn’t a kind year for the Bears. It featured ending with a 6-11 record, a quarterback controversy and a fired head coach.

Clinching the NFC North has been a tough task for the historic franchise, especially since Aaron Rodgers has been in the division. Chicago has only won it twice since 2010. 

Matt Nagy was brought in after his successes in Kansas City helping develop Patrick Mahomes. He won the division in 2018 but couldn’t find a stable quarterback and eventually was let go after failing to develop Justin Fields. 

Nagy flip flopped between Fields and Andy Dalton while both quarterbacks struggled. Chicago brass brought in Matt Eberflus (former Indianapolis defensive coordinator) to try and instill discipline into the organization. Eberflus then hired former Green Bay quarterbacks coach Luke Getsy as his offensive coordinator.

San Francisco comes into the game fresh off an NFC Championship loss to the Rams. The offense failed to score on the last drive of the game which would have resulted in overtime or a trip to the Super Bowl.

Similar to their opponent this week, the organization also had a quarterback problem with Jimmy Garoppolo struggling in big moments. Starting under center for the team now is 2021 No. 3 overall pick Trey Lance. The Niners hope the North Dakota State prodigy can be their franchise player.

Oddsmakers don’t have much faith in Chicago’s abilities. San Francisco are heavy favorites at -310 on the money line and -7 for the spread. 

Players to watch in the 49ers vs. Bears matchup

49ers

Trey Lance: All eyes will be on the second-year quarterback come noon Sunday while Garropolo rides the bench. Lance has a small sample size as he only saw action in four games passing the ball in 2021. The dual-threat QB went 41-71 for 603 yards adding 5 touchdowns and 2 interceptions. 

Bears

Justin Fields: Similar to the Niners, but on the opposing side of the field, the 49ers faithful will see what their second-year QB has to offer. Fields was thrown into an awful situation after not starting in the preseason, nor the first two games, and went on to finish the season 2-8 as a starter. At Ohio State, the 23-year-old went 20-2 as the QB1, leading his team to the semifinals and final of the College Football Playoffs.

Our NFL bet of the week for the 49ers vs Bears match

ESTNN is providing bettors with two wagers for this game.

49ers vs Bears Spread: San Francisco -7 @ -110

Trey Lance is young and inexperienced but in his short amount of minutes played he’s played slightly above average according to pundits. The difference between he and Fields is his supporting cast and head coach. Lance is surrounded by the following weapons: Deebo Samuel (WR), Brandon Aiyuk (WR), George Kittle (TE) and Elijah Mitchell (RB). Not to mention the “truck” of a left tackle Trent Williams. 

Quarterbacks don’t have to play well under offensive guru Kyle Shanahan in order to win games and cover spreads. Shanahan’s scheme involves motions, bubble screens, RPOs, trick plays and deploying Samuel at halfback. It often throws opponents off and leads to big scoring plays.

The 49ers have an extremely stout defense too. The unit finished in the top five in 6-of-9 of the NFL’s defensive statistical categories during the playoffs. The top stats were rushing yards allowed per game (No. 1 in the NFL with 3.1) and points allowed per game (No. 2 in the NFL with 15.7).

San Francisco is 5-0 in its last five games against the spread. With the spread being -7, it’s worth a wager. There’s also a chance it lowers to -6.5 by kickoff.

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49ers vs. Bears odds: Justin Fields over 0.5 interceptions @ -135

Justin Fields will be facing a vicious 49ers defense led by Nick Bosa, who had 15.5 sacks, 68 QB pressures and a 14.7% pressure rate last campaign. Linebacker Fred Warner, who has a knack for causing turnovers, will also pose a threat for Fields.

Fields had trouble last season holding onto the ball too long and forcing late throws. He finished with seven touchdown passes and 10 interceptions.

There’s a strong possibility Fields will throw an interception on Sunday. The -135 set by bookies is one of the great nfl week 1 odds.

If you’re interested in learning about more prop bets for week 1, read our NFL player props page.

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