Sunday Night Football's showdown against the Chicago Bears is going to be a case example of the San Francisco 49ers offense needing to shoulder the load in light of a suspect defense, not unlike how the Niners pulled off a win over the Indianapolis Colts a week prior.
Thankfully for quarterback Brock Purdy and Co., there are two major factors working in San Francisco's favor.
For starters, despite the successes under first-year head coach Ben Johnson, the 11-4 Bears have some notable struggles on defense, surrendering an average of 5.9 yards per play (tied for fourth most) while boasting bottom-five defenses against both the run (5.0 yards per carry) and the pass (6.7 yards per attempt).
While this is excellent news for running back Christian McCaffrey, who has been the 49ers' offensive workhorse this season in both the run and pass games, it's also a major bonus for wide receiver Ricky Pearsall.
Ricky Pearsall's return can help 49ers take advantage of Bears' suspect defense
Pearsall has been banged up aplenty this season, having appeared in just eight games to date while dealing with knee issues, and he didn't see the field for the Niners' Week 16 win over Indy while recovering from the PCL issue he's had.
That said, especially if All-Pro tight end George Kittle (ankle) isn't able to suit up after being declared a gametime decision, Pearsall's return to action after participating in practice this week is a major boost to Purdy and the rest of the offense.
Despite not impacting the stat sheet as much as many fans had hoped entering the season, the 2024 first-round draftee has nevertheless made an impact when on the field, and we've seen this before when he'd frequently serve as a deep-threat decoy who helps open things up underneath for Purdy's remaining arsenal of weapons.
Box score impact or not, getting Pearsall back into the fray is precisely what San Francisco needs to keep its offense hot.
With the Bears boasting their own surging offense, thanks to quarterback Caleb Williams' maturation and the prowess of running backs D'Andre Swift and Kyle Monangai, Pearsall and the offense shouldering the burden and relieving the 49ers' own defense is going to be vital when both teams square off on Sunday, Dec. 28 at 8:20 p.m. ET.