49ers Will Face Similar Test From Week 1 As Bears Come To Town
By Jerrell Richardson
Chicago Bears (0-1)
Head Coach: Marc Trestman
Players to Watch: Jay Cutler, Brandon Marshall, Matt Forte, Tim Jennings, Alshon Jeffery, Tim Jennings, Lance Briggs
The first NFL regular season game played at Levi Stadium has the San Francisco 49ers hosting the Chicago Bears. On paper, Chicago is very similar to San Francisco’s Week 1 opponent, the Dallas Cowboys. The Bears have an offense that can score points at will, an inconsistent passer and a less than spectacular defense.
However, even with the up and down Jay Cutler under center, the Bears are still not the known choke artists as the Dallas Cowboys. While the 49ers road performance was a bit of a surprise, nobody was really shocked to see Tony Romo stink up the joint. The Bears are coming off of a disappointing home loss of their own, and will travel to Santa Clara with bad intentions, and facing a must win. Chicago figures to at least play up to their potential, which would mean a much stiffer test in Week 2 for a 49ers team that will look to stay undefeated. While a win figures to be hard fought, San Francisco has to relish the thought of facing this next challenge, as even they have to be wondering how much of their Week 1 dominance was Tony Romo and a horrendous Cowboy defense, and how much of it was them.
When San Francisco Has the Ball: Advantage 49ers
Despite a rich tradition of dominant defenses, the 2013 Bears did not live up to the name on their jerseys. They gave up a franchise worst 478 points, highlighted (or lowlighted) by allowing four opponents to score at least 40. Chicago lost their two leading tacklers from a year ago and after their Week 1 performance, they don’t appear as though they have really improved from a year ago.
Against the Bills, the Bears gave up 193 rushing yards and allowed 23 points in an overtime loss. The total of rushing yards is alarming, and while the point total is not bad, it’s not great. Keep in mind that the Bills settled for second half field goals as well, or the final tally could have been a lot closer to 40.
While the jury is still out on the 49er offense, and the Bears defense has to play better than the Cowboys did against San Francisco, it's clear that when the 49er offense is on the field, they will have the advantage. But don’t expect this to be easy. Looking to disrupt Colin Kaepernick and the passing game will be Chicago safety Tim Jennings who is a turnover machine. The ball hawk is a threat to pick off a pass or cause a fumble and will look to make an impact Sunday. However, Jennings alone can’t cover the multiple threats the 49ers passing game will trot out on the field, and can’t do anything if San Francisco protects the ball.
By years end, Linebacker Lance Briggs will most likely lead Chicago in tackles and will do his best to slow down Frank Fore and Carlos Hyde. However if he and his teammates had problems with Buffalo, than there is a good chance that the 49ers, and their stable of backs along with Colin Kaepernick will have success running the ball.
When Chicago Has The Ball: Advantage Bears
The 49ers defense has a lot of new parts, and will, for the second straight week, face an explosive offense. However, if nothing else, the San Francisco defense has to enter this game with the confidence that they can limit the damage, after holding Dallas to just 17 points. The difference this week is that the Bears will not abandon the run, and when needed have two playmakers in Brandon Marshall and Alshon Jeffrey at the wide receiver position that are matchup nightmares. Depending on who is available due to some Week 1 injuries, the 49ers may be even more undermanned and could piece together a secondary to face a very dangerous aerial attack. Even with safety Pro Bowler Eric Reid holding down the back end, this is not a favorable matchup for the home team.
The key though will be Matt Forte. The Bears running back is the center of their offense, and will be used in both the running and passing game. This is an area of concern for a 49er team that struggled with DeMarco Murray and only due to a bevy of turnovers were able to force the Cowboys to forget about the run. Patrick Willis will do his part, but Michael Wilhoite will need to do a better job in both run and pass coverage to contain Forte who will be a problem if allowed to catch the ball in open space Sunday.
Big Difference Between 2-0 and 1-1
While they could have picked a less formidable opponent for the regular season opening of Levi Stadium, the schedule makers still picked an opponent that even the 49ers with all the questions on both sides of the of the ball should be able to beat. In fact, the type of opponent is almost ideal, as Chicago is no joke, but not a team that figures to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl at years end.
San Francisco is facing a test that will require them to study, be prepared and play clean, sound, 49er football. While another win might not solidify anything, it will keep the team out of the loss column and a 2-0 record is as good as they could hope to be at this point in the season. The alternative, a loss, would allow the questions to resurface as to how good this year’s 49er team is, which obviously they would like to avoid. Good thing they will beat the Bears and keep their momentum heading in the right direction.
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Jerrell Richardson is a Bay Area native who due to a college career at San Diego State University has grown an appreciation for all things sports related in California. His heart will always remain in San Francisco though where he currently resides and covers everything from the San Francisco 49ers and Giants to the San Jose Sharks and California Bears Baseball team. Jerrell is a freelance writer covering all things NFL. His work can be found on Examiner.com.