The penultimate Sunday Night Football of the NFL 2025 season takes us to the place where the entire campaign will end as Levi’s Stadium plays host to the San Francisco 49ers and the Chicago Bears in a big NFC showdown.
This match looked like it could be big for both teams heading into the week but the Bears won the NFC North title without playing on Saturday evening so the attention turns to the 49ers, who will be the number one seeds in the Conference if they win out.
San Francisco 49ers
The San Francisco 49ers have ridden an injury hit season to come into the penultimate week of the campaign with an 11-4 record and they know that regardless of what the Seattle Seahawks do against the Carolina Panthers earlier in the day, if they win out they will win the NFC West title and they will be the number one seeds in the Conference, which means that they get a week off ahead of starting their assault on the postseason, which could come in handy with the injuries that they have.
Despite the injuries that they have defensively, the 49ers were able to go to Indianapolis and win last week and that means that as long as they keep winning they will be at home for the remainder of the season. They are probably going to need their offense to deliver here because the defence failed to really contain Philip Rivers last week and Caleb Williams is entitled to be a much tougher proposition than the veteran Indy quarterback.
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Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears would have boarded the plane to San Francisco thinking in their minds that they would have needed to win this game to win the NFC North. That is no longer the case as they have that division won courtesy of Green Bay losing on Saturday night. That gives them the freedom to attack this without a lot to lose, although there is a chance that if they can win this match then they could still earn the number one seed in the NFC themselves.
The Bears got the better of Green Bay last week which all but secured them the NFC North title and now they get a crack at an injury ravaged defence in a match where they can showcase all of their quality without a huge amount to lose. There are reports of an illness in the Bears camp though which isn’t ideal so it remains to be seen just how close to full strength they are for this match. If they are at it they can be dangerous.
Betting
Technically there shouldn’t be any drop off for the Chicago Bears as the number one seed is still in play for them but now that they have won the NFC North I wonder if subconsciously, they will let up a touch even if they don’t intend to. The other concern over the Bears is over the perceived illness that is meant to be running through their camp. Whether it is or it isn’t and whether they do or don’t ease up I still think they get beaten by the San Francisco 49ers here.
There is money coming for the 49ers which is probably no surprise given the changing circumstances and although there are legitimate questions over the San Francisco defence, if they are up against a jaded Bears side or one which has the foot slightly off the gas then that issue is less likely to be exposed here. San Francisco know that wins are everything if they want to keep playing at home and I expect them to win this by more than just a field goal.
Tips
Back San Francisco 49ers (-3) to beat Chicago Bears for a 3/10 stake at 1.83 with Coral
