(670 The Score) The Bears will host the 49ers in their season opener Sunday at Soldier Field.
WBBM Newsradio 780 will carry the game, with kickoff set for noon.
Our 670 The Score pregame show with Mike Mulligan, Patrick Mannelly and Anthony Herron will start at 9 a.m. and run until kickoff. Our postgame show will start just after the final buzzer. Both can be heard here or by downloading the free Audacy app.
You can check out all of 670’s preview coverage of the Bears-49ers matchup by clicking here. Below are game predictions from our 670 hosts, producers and writers.
David Haugh: 49ers 27, Bears 19
Justin Fields will outplay Trey Lance, but the 49ers will move the ball too easily on the ground and the game's biggest playmaker – Deebo Samuel – will provide the explosiveness to give San Francisco an edge. The Bears will compete, show progress and display evidence of coaching but fall just short as they rack up their first of many moral victories in the first year of the new regime.
Danny Parkins: 49ers 23, Bears 7
This is about as terrible of an X’s-and-O’s matchup as one could imagine for the Bears … and I couldn’t be more excited! How does Matt Eberflus measure up against Kyle Shanahan? How does Braxton Jones hold up against Nick Bosa? Can Fields overcome the talent deficit around him to make the Niners regret taking an FCS quarterback over him? I assume the answer to these questions won’t be positive for the Bears, but it’s a great measuring stick for where they are and where they need to go eventually.
Matt Spiegel: Bears 21, 49ers 13
Week 1 in 2021: Saints 38, Packers 3
Week 1 in 2020: Jaguars 27, Colts 20
Somebody always pulls off a big upset in Week 1, and it will be the Bears this year. Their offense looks competent, and Lance doesn’t. Roquan Smith and Jaquan Brisker will be the run-stopping heroes for the defense, holding Lance short on a big fourth-and-1 late in the game.
Gabe Ramirez: Bears 20, 49ers 17
First, let’s be clear: In my mind, the Bears are going 17-0! Unfortunately, that’s not a reality. However, I do believe the Bears will play a more exciting and competitive brand of football than we’ve been used to. This will be a close game that Fields ultimately closes out.
Shane Riordan: Bears 28, 49ers 13
Lance throws three interceptions (two to Jaylon Johnson and one to Kindle Vildor), David Montgomery rushes for 150 yards, Cole Kmet catches a touchdown pass and the combination of Fields and Luke Getsy looks like the most unstoppable quarterback-offensive coordinator duo in the history of the Chicago Bears franchise.
Chris Tannehill: Bears 16, 49ers 10
The Bears ride the wave of all the positive vibes of a regime change while the 49ers struggle to move the ball with Lance.
Adam Studzinski: 49ers 24, Bears 20
I've gone back and forth on this one and while the Bears meatball in me would love to pick Chicago, San Francisco is just the better team. However, I do think the Bears are going to keep this close – mainly because I don't think Lance is any good. Not yet anyway. The dude played, what, 19 games at North Dakota State and is ready to take over an NFL offense after just a season? Sure, OK. Chicago’s defense, which I believe is going to be solid-to-good this season, will give him fits, but the 49ers will do just enough to outscore the Bears’ offense. Fields will outplay Lance enough that the 49ers will walk away starting to regret their choice to pass on him and take Lance in the 2021 NFL Draft. In the end (shouts out to Linkin Park), the Bears’ offensive line won’t hold up well enough for them to score enough points to earn the win. The Bears will cover the spread though.
Woohoo!
Chris Emma: Bears 21, 49ers 19
Playing with heart and hustle can only get a team so far, but it will produce a win for the Bears in their opener as 49ers star tight end George Kittle (groin) will also be either limited or sidelined. Weird stuff happens in Week 1, and this Bears team could win a few more games than pundits believe. Count this as one of those surprising wins.
Cam Ellis: 49ers 27, Bears 21
Amateurs may not have been grinding through the preseason tape, but I was and I'm here to tell you that everything you saw in those three games was realistic. The Bears are going to continue winning football games at a 1.000 rate – it's simply inevitable. Eberflus' HITS principles may be unorthodox – who asks for hustle and intensity from their players?!? – but dammit, it gets results. The Bears will keep winning because they have discovered the ancient art of hustling and intensity.
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