Bears vs. 49ers: 5 bold Week 16 predictions for San Francisco

The San Francisco 49ers host the playoff-bound Chicago Bears in Week 16 in what appears to be a one-sided matchup. But let’s go bold and come up with some notable predictions for the Niners, shall we?

Just over a year ago, the San Francisco 49ers were able to ride the leg of kicker Robbie Gould and the arm of newly minted starting quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo en route to a 15-14 road win over the Chicago Bears, who ended up finishing 2017 with a 5-11 record before firing their head coach, John Fox, and undergoing a slew of changes between then and this season.

Now, sitting at 10-4 and already having secured the NFC North crown, the Bears are arguably the most complete team in the NFL and are getting hot at the right moment. Aside from an overtime loss to the New York Giants in Week 13, Chicago has been on a hot streak since Week 7, boasting the No. 3 overall defense in both points allowed (264) and all-purpose yards given up (4,352). Defensive coordinator Vic Fangio (you might remember him, Niners fans) has a unit equally effective against both the run and the pass, forcing more turnovers (35) than any other team in the league.

So, how can San Francisco play spoiler after doing so against the Seattle Seahawks in Week 15?

That’s a good question. A darned tough one. Currently, according to Odds Shark, the Niners are four-point underdogs for the contest. They were 3.5-point underdogs to the Seahawks last week, so this isn’t a huge difference in odds.

Yet the Bears are in a bit different a category than Seattle. As our friend Kyle Madson of Niners Wire pointed out on Sacramento’s KHTK 1140 Wednesday morning, Chicago is one of those teams that wouldn’t be a surprise to make it to the Super Bowl.

A 49ers win in Week 16 would be a surprise, for sure. It would be bold to suggest head coach Kyle Shanahan’s squad would win, prompting some bold predictions for this second-to-last game of the regular season.

Let’s have fun with those predictions, shall we?