The Bears come into this game 3-3 with their new franchise QB, Justin Fields, under center. He’s had a mixed start and will be up against the 49ers defense here, who have struggled with injuries again.
Injuries have been a continued part of the 49ers story over the past two seasons, but those excuses aren’t good enough — they’re five wins off the top spot in the NFC West and need to start winning soon. Don’t miss our NFL picks and predictions for the San Francisco 49ers vs. Chicago Bears on Sunday, October 31.
49ers vs Bears odds
Odds via the Covers Line, an average comprised of odds from multiple sportsbooks.
When the spread opened, it had the Bears as 3.5 underdogs, which has continued to get longer as the Bears are now 4-point dogs. The points total has moved too, dropping from 41 points to 39.5 points.
Use the live odds widget above to track any future line movements right up until kickoff and be sure to check out the full NFL odds before placing your bets.
49ers vs Bears picks
Picks made on 10/28/2021 at 7:30 a.m. ET.
Click on each pick to jump to the full analysis.
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49ers vs Bears game info
• Location: Soldier Field, Chicago, IL
• Date: Sunday, October 31, 2021
• Time: 1:00 p.m. ET
• TV: FOX
49ers at Bears betting preview
Weather
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Key injuries
49ers: Azeez Al-Shaair LB (Out), Dee Ford DE (Out), Maurice Hurst DT (Out), Javon Kinlaw DT (Out), Jaquiski Tartt (Out), George Kittle TE (Out), Robbie Gould K (Out), Jason Verrett CB (Out), Raheem Mostert RB (Out)
Bears: Khalil Mack LB (Out), Jimmy Graham TE (Out), Deon Bush DB (Out), David Montgomery EB (Out), Germain Ifedi OL (Out)
Find our latest NFL injury reports.
Betting trend to know
The Bears are 1-6 ATS in their last seven games as underdogs. Find more NFL betting trends for 49ers vs. Bears.
49ers vs Bears predictions
49ers -4.0 (-110)
You have to feel for Kyle Shanahan. Every team in the NFL deals with injuries, but for the San Francisco 49ers it seems like it’s become a yearly occurrence. A number of defensive stars are missing through injury, with further players from the offense, including some of their best offensive talent, missing also.
Injuries have impacted the Bears too. An injury to Andy Dalton forced their hand and meant that they put in the 11th overall pick from this year’s NFL Draft, Justin Fields, something that both fans and neutrals had been calling for. Fields hasn’t seen immediate success under center for the Bears. He’s only thrown for 816 yards and two touchdowns, tossing six interceptions in the process. He’s ranked 32nd in the league in terms of QBR. It’s also fair to say that he’s not been helped by Matt Nagy, who hasn’t put him in the best position to succeed.
Despite having an inferior record to the Bears, it’s the 49ers who are favorites, but we have to factor in their division when it comes to their results. They won their first two games of the season but have since lost four in a row, though narrow defeats against the Packers and Cardinals are still impressive in many ways.
As mentioned, the Niners offense is missing big names, but they’re still ranked 16th in offensive DVOA, sitting in the middle of the pack, well ahead of the Bears who are down in 29th, among the likes of the Lions, Jaguars and Dolphins.
Last week, the Bears took a heavy beating by the Buccaneers, which followed another loss to the Packers and Aaron Rodgers. When you look at the manner of those defeats it’s hard not to think the 49ers should win on Sunday.
Deebo Samuel looks better and better each week, and he’ll be the dangerman against the Bears here. Likewise, Eli Mitchell comes into this having rushed for 107 yards against the Colts last week.
As anybody who drafted Trey Sermon or Brandon Aiyuk in fantasy football knows, Kyle Shanahan doesn’t care about reputation, and in Mitchell he’s found somebody that suits his scheme well.
Don’t worry about the four points, grab the 49ers here — they have the superior coaching that will ultimately be the telling difference.
Over 39.5 (-110)
With a total of just 39.5 points, this is the lowest of the weekend, and there are clear reasons why. Fields hasn’t looked great for the Bears so far, and they’ve only scored 17 points in their past two games. In that same timeframe, we’ve only seen the 49ers put up 28 points. Don’t let recent games fool you though, both teams have been largely against good defenses. In terms of defensive DVOA, the 49ers have faced teams ranked 2nd and 12th, with the Bears facing the Bucs, who are 7th in defensive DVOA.
The Over is 5-1-1 in the 49ers’ last seven games as a road favorite and their offense should start firing again on Sunday. Even if we don’t see a huge jump from the Bears’ play calling, which I don’t expect, then the Bears should probably be good for a touchdown and some field goals. The 49ers do feel like a team who are far better than their 2-4 record suggests, and the offense will prove it this weekend.
Elijah Mitchell Over 69.5 rushing yards (-105)
Elijah Mitchell’s rushing line sitting at just 69.5 yards feels like a homerun. You can never be totally sure who you’ll see running the rock in a Shanahan offense, but last week we saw Mitchell rush for 107 yards. We’re still not totally sure if Trey Lance will play but if he doesn’t then that’s only going to increase Mitchell’s chances of beating this total.
It shouldn’t really matter who is quarterbacking the 49ers though, their opponent has been awful against the run in recent weeks. Leonard Fournette and Ronald Jones rushed for 144 yards last week against the Bears. Not only that, but once the result was clear, the Bucs rotated Ke’Shawn Vaughn in and the sophomore still managed an average of 5.4 yards per carry. The week before Aaron Jones and AJ Dillion managed 135 yards and both averaged over 5.4 yards per carry too.
This team isn’t able to stop running backs at the moment and Elijah Mitchell is in a great position to surpass his line here.
