Chicago Bears vs San Francisco 49ers: Staff Picks

August 17, 2014; Santa Clara, CA, USA; General view of Levi

The Chicago Bears head to Santa Clara California to help the San Francisco 49ers christen their new stadium.  It’s the least we could do after eight straight losses in Candlestick Park.  No one on the visiting sideline is going to miss that place.

Things look pretty bleak for the Beloved.  They’re limping in after a surprising home loss.  Teams that drop to 0-2 have about a 4% chance of making the Super Bowl, so a loss by the Bears puts that preseason hype in serious jeopardy.  Our intrepid staff of writers previewed the game and made their predictions.  Follow along, won’t you?

Boomer (0-1)

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If the Bears were going into this game healthy, I’d give them half a chance.  The 49ers defense is undermanned and they didn’t exactly blow the doors off the Dallas Cowboys in Week 1.  It’s never as good as you think, and it’s never as bad as you think.  But since the healthiest receiver on the Bears roster is Santonio Holmes, it pretty bad.  Look for running back Carlos Hyde to put up some yards as a sleeper and tight end Vernon Davis should have a big day going against the soft underbelly of the Bears D.

49ers 24 – Bears 20

Mike Flannery (0-1)

The Bears improve on both sides of the ball in this one, but not enough to beat the Niners on the road and the Bears lose a close one.

49ers  28-24