Well, it’s official. With the Chicago Bears soundly defeating the Seattle Seahawks on Monday night 34-17, on the road no less, the San Francisco 49ers now have a new biggest threat in the NFC.
Chicago has been a scary team for some time now, but the fact it looked so dominant against Seattle is a sign that San Francisco needs to be on alert.
Quarterback Caleb Williams looks even better than he did in 2025, and that’s saying something because he looked pretty darn good last season. In that epic shootout between the 49ers and Bears in Week 17 of last season, the Niners saw just how potent a force that Chicago offense can be even if it was going up against a very depleted Niners defense.
San Francisco won that game 42-38, although the Bears had a chance to win it on the final drive. One could argue that both teams are better than last season, so if the 49ers and Bears end up meeting in the playoffs, then there could be some real fireworks.
Seahawks give way to Bears as 49ers' No. 1 threat in NFC
Up until Monday, it was pretty fair to still view the Hawks and the Los Angeles Rams as the biggest threats to San Francisco. They were clearly superior to the Niners last season and squared off in the NFC Championship game, plus Seattle bounced the Niners from the playoffs in the divisional round while the Bears got bounced by the Rams in an epic thriller of a game.
While the Seahawks and Rams should not be taken lightly, Seattle doesn't totally have many offensive weapons outside of wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba, and L.A. has had some well-documented struggles and ugly losses so far this campaign.
Maybe this season, it'll be San Francisco and Chicago squaring off in the NFC title game. The Bears certainly look ascendant after making a move for Tennessee Titans defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons, and they might remain active on the trade market as they’ve been connected to Los Angeles Chargers edge rusher Khalil Mack.
That’s why the Niners absolutely need to remain vigilant on the trade front. If they could steal someone like Mack away from Chicago, that could give them a major edge in a potential playoff matchup. We saw how close that game was in 2025, so a player like that could be the difference between a win or a loss.
Now at 6-2 on the season, Chicago seems like it could definitely give San Francisco a run for the No. 1 seed. The Minnesota Vikings are also up there, but their offense does not inspire much fear, and the Seahawks and Rams are both at 4-4, so they really need to turn on the jets in the second half. The Detroit Lions shouldn't be slept on either.
The difference between facing the Bears in Chicago or Santa Clara in January is pretty monumental to say the least, so the 49ers getting home-field advantage over the Bears is going to be a massive storyline to watch the rest of this season.
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