7. Week 17-At San Francisco 49ers
Last season, the Bears were destroyed by the 49ers 38-13 in Thomas Brown's debut as an interim head coach. Even with the firing of Matt Eberflus the day after the Thanksgiving game and with more than a week to prepare, Brown completely torpedoed his opportunity for a Bears head coach audition with an embarrassing loss.
The San Francisco 49ers are looking to rebound from a rough 2024 season, in which they were decimated by injuries. Following a 5-4 start, they lost 7 of their last 8 games, with their only win coming against the Bears en route to a 6-11 season. Was last season an aberration, or has their playoff window closed?
Historically, the Bears have struggled against the 49ers during the regular season, and for the most part, neither team has faced each other when they were both good, except a few times in the 80s. It is weird for the Bears to travel to the West Coast this late in the season. But the NFL and NBC, which will broadcast this game as the final Sunday Night Football game of 2025, are gambling that this game will have a playoff spot on the line for both teams.