The San Francisco 49ers head into their high-stakes Sunday Night Football matchup with the Chicago Bears still in control of their own destiny.
And that's not only in the NFC West but in the race for the No. 1 seed in the conference as well, as a win over Chicago on Sunday followed by a win over the Seattle Seahawks in Week 18 would give the Niners a bye in the Wild Card Round and home-field advantage throughout the NFC portion of the postseason bracket.
While the 49ers are one of the hottest teams in the league right now, as they enter this matchup with an 11-4 record and riding a five-game winning streak, the Bears are plenty hot in their own right, having won seven of their last eight to sit atop the NFC North with that same 11-4 record.
The San Francisco defense will need to put forth a strong performance, as the Chicago offense comes into this contest averaging 371.1 total yards per game, good for fourth in the NFL. That said, though, the 49ers' offense could easily light it up as well, as one of the Bears' biggest weaknesses is their ability to put pressure on opposing quarterbacks.
And with the way Brock Purdy has been playing lately, that could mean big trouble for the Monsters of the Midway.
Brock Purdy could easily exploit the Bears' pass-rush problem
Much like the 49ers, the Bears do a lot of things right, but getting after the quarterback simply isn't one of them, sitting in a tie for 22nd in sacks this season with just 31.
And 9.5 of those have come from Montez Sweat, who is the only player on the Chicago roster ranked in the top 50 in total pressures, ranking in a tie for 36th with 46 on the year. The only other Bear ranked in the top 100 is Gervon Dexter, who sits in a tie for 63rd with 36. From an overall standpoint, the Bears' overall PFF pass-rush grade is currently 64.3, which ranks 26th.
The Niners, meanwhile, have allowed only 23 sacks this season, tied for the fifth-fewest in the league. So, again, Purdy, who has been on an absolute tear as of late, could be in for a big night.
In the Niners' last three games, Purdy has completed 68.8 percent of his passes, averaged 249.3 passing yards per game, and has thrown nine touchdowns against just one interception. It's just amazing what you can do when you have to throw, isn't it?