Bears vs. 49ers: A Complete Guide to Sunday Night Football Week 2

The second Sunday night affair is a tale of two teams for which Week 1 went very differently.

It was a breeze for the San Francisco 49ers. Thanks to three first-half interceptions against quarterback Tony Romo, the 49ers cruised to a 28-3 lead before eventually prevailing over the Dallas Cowboys, 28-17.

Things did not go so smoothly for the Chicago Bears. A team with playoff aspirations in 2014 looked very much like last year's squad—potent on offense and tissue-paper soft on defense, especially against the run.

It was the latter that did the team in, as horrific tackling on a Fred Jackson run set up the Buffalo Bills for the field-goal attempt that resulted in a shocking overtime home loss for Chicago.

Now the Bears must travel cross-country to face the 49ers and their formidable defense, and they may be doing so without several key pieces on offense.

Here's a look at the latest on those injuries, the matchups to watch and everything else you need to know about Sunday night's showdown in Santa Clara, California.

What, Where, When: The Particulars

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What: Sunday Night Football Week 2

Who: Chicago Bears (0-1) at San Francisco 49ers (1-0)

Where: Levi's Stadium, Santa Clara, California

When: 8:30 p.m. EDT

TV Coverage: NBC

Line (per OddsShark): 49ers (-7)

It was something of a big deal when these teams last met.

You see, on November 19, 2012, a quarterback by the name of Colin Kaepernick made his first career start for the San Francisco 49ers.

Kaepernick was outstanding in that game, completing 16 of 23 passes for 243 yards, with two touchdowns and no turnovers. His passer rating for that contest was a robust 133.1, and Kaeperick's QBR in the contest was nearly 100.

After the game, Kaepernick told The Associated Press via ESPN, "It's everything I could have ever wished for. It feels great just to be out there."

The 49ers throttled the Bears 32-7 that night, but it's worth pointing out that the Bears played without starting quarterback Jay Cutler, who missed the game with a concussion.

Injury Report

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It's only Week 2, but already injuries are taking a toll across the NFL.

The Chicago Bears are no exception, as they may enter Sunday night's showdown without one (or both) of their star wideouts.

As Gregg Rosenthal of NFL.com reports, both Alshon Jeffery (hamstring) and Brandon Marshall (ankle) are questionable for Sunday night's game after being limited in practice on Friday.

Head coach Marc Trestman didn't sound overly optimistic about Marshall's chances of suiting up, saying, "He just walked through. At best, it was a light jog."

That isn't the only problem facing the Bears Sunday night. In addition to potentially being without his top two targets in the passing game, Cutler will also be without two of his starters on the offensive line.

According to Rich Campbell of the Chicago Tribune (h/t Josh Alper of Pro Football Talk), both center Roberto Garza and guard Matt Slauson suffered high ankle sprains in last week's loss to Buffalo. They have already been ruled out for Week 2, which thrusts rookie guard Michael Ola and center Brian de la Puente into the starting lineup.

The news is much better for the 49ers. Yes, the team is already without linebackers NaVorro Bowman (PUP, knee) and Aldon Smith (suspension), but other than that, the 49ers will be operating at more or less full strength Sunday night.

The Stakes

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It's only Week 2—far too early for any NFL team to panic. Still, it's understandable that there's been more than a little sweating going on in Chicago this week.

After being stunned at home by the Bills, the Bears are already a game back of the Detroit Lions and Minnesota Vikings. At least the Seattle Seahawks did the Bears a solid by pounding the Green Bay Packers, or the Bears would be all alone in the NFC North cellar.

Jon Greenberg of ESPNChicago.com pointed out the obvious earlier this week: The Bears defense needs to get better in a hurry.

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In the NFL, there is little use comparing one season to another, given the amount of turnover from year to year. Some would argue the same goes from game to game, especially every coach and player when reporters inquire what went wrong in the previous one.

Then again, it was the Spanish writer George Santayana who is credited with the equally famous phrase: "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." I'm not sure if he was an American football fan, but I'm sure he would be worried about the Bears defense right now.

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It was 2013 all over again. No run defense. Even less of a pass rush. If it doesn't change soon, the only place the Bears will going in January is Buffalo Wild Wings, to watch the playoffs with the rest of us.

For the 49ers, the stakes are the same as they have been in recent years.

San Francisco isn't just expected to make the playoffs. Anything less than a trip to Super Bowl XLIX in Glendale, Arizona, will be considered a failure. In the same division as the Seahawks (who look unstoppable right now), every game is crucial, both in the NFC West and the wild-card race.

No pressure, though.

The Coaches

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Both of the coaches in Sunday night's game are highly regarded, but the pair took very different paths to the NFL.

Chicago's Marc Trestman spent years as an offensive assistant and coordinator, followed by a five-year stint as the head coach of the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League.

He spent two years as the offensive coordinator for the 49ers in the mid-'90s—a stop the 58-year-old told David Haugh of the Chicago Tribune helped revive his lagging coaching career:

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I certainly don't think I would've ever had the opportunity to be here today if I hadn't spent two years learning the 49ers and the West Coast offense. Number one, (Bill Walsh) was as smart of a man as he is made out to be. There were a lot of rides on buses, a lot of lunches, and there were quiet times. Bill never really interfered at all with what we were doing, although there was the perception that he did. That wasn't the case.

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In fact, while Trestman was with the Oakland Raiders, he oversaw a young quality control coach trying to find his way in his first coaching gig.

That coach was Jim Harbaugh, whom Trestman talked up while speaking with Michael C. Wright of ESPN.com:

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Jim, he’s an amazing guy. He’s hypercompetitive, was extremely detailed and really worked hard at his job. He was quality control. He was drawing the pictures. The standard was very, very high. He took it very, very seriously. He went from there, he moved on. He started working with the quarterbacks in his second year and spending … individual time with them -- just a good friend, and just a very good football coach and person.

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Since then, of course, it's been nothing but success for Harbaugh. The 50-year-old resurrected the football program at Stanford before moving on to the NFL, where he's led the 49ers to three consecutive NFC Championship Game appearances and a berth in Super Bowl XLVII.

However, all is not necessarily well in the Bay Area. Last Sunday, the NFL Network's Ian Rapoport (via colleague Marc Sessler) reported that some sources believe Harbaugh is perilously close to losing the trust and respect of his players:

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There is some serious doubts about whether Harbaugh is actually all in like he professes. He says he is about the team, the team, the team. The players now wonder, is that actually the case? They have dealt with a lot over the last couple years. Some of the way he's treated them, some lack of respect. And all because they are winning, they are fine with it, but some of the players wonder, if they lose, will it all spiral out of control?

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Harbaugh's relationship with general manager Trent Baalke has been contentious at times, and more than a few pundits have wondered aloud if Harbaugh's days in San Francisco might be numbered despite all his success with the team.

When the Bears Have the Ball

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This one could be tricky for Chicago.

If the 49ers have a weak spot on the defensive side of the ball, it lies in the secondary. That weakness is going to be difficult to exploit if Jeffery and/or Marshall are forced to miss the game. Those injuries also place a tremendous amount of pressure on running back Matt Forte to carry the load for the Bears offensively.

In the opinion of Mike Mulligan of the Chicago Tribune, it's essential that the Bears turn back the clock a bit against the 49ers Sunday night:

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The impulse will be to rely more on Jay Cutler than ever. He is paid like a franchise quarterback, so why not prove he is one? The advice here is to go in a different direction. It's time to play smash-mouth football. Emphasize running back Matt Forte and battle the 49ers' physical style with less of a finesse game.

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Of course, that's not so easy to accomplish against a San Francisco defense that ranked fourth in the NFL against the run last year, allowing fewer than 96 yards per game.

It's just as important that Cutler improve on last week's performance. He threw for 349 yards against the Bills but also committed a pair of costly turnovers, including a back-breaking fourth-quarter interception on a pass that never should have been thrown.

Cutler admitted to the Tribune's Rich Campbell that the Bears' makeshift passing attack faces a tall task this week:

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With the full 11, you can just kind of get in and out of the huddle as fast as you can, and those guys will figure it out. Even if we're lined up on the wrong side and 'Z' (receiver) goes one way and 'X' goes to the wrong side, they know the call, they know the concept, they'll get it figured out. These new guys, I have to make sure that when we break the huddle we know exactly where we're going, we're getting our splits, we're getting lined up correctly.

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One thing is for certain: The last time the Bears came to San Francisco and were one-dimensional on offense as the result of an injury, they got waxed.

If the Bears can't move the ball somewhat effectively through the air Sunday night, it's going to be deja vu.

When the 49ers Have the Ball

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There was a lot of hand-wringing in the preseason over the San Francisco 49ers offense and its inability to move the ball. At first glance, those issues would seem to have been remedied after the Niners put up 28 points in Week 1.

However, the fact is, Dallas turnovers gave the 49ers several short fields, and the Cowboys defense is 22 kinds of ungood.

After one week, the 49ers rank 23rd in the NFL offensively, but there were some positives. As ESPN's KC Joyner pointed out (subscription required), wide receiver Michael Crabtree looks 100 percent recovered from his Achilles tear, a development that bodes well for Colin Kaepernick's odds of successfully attacking defenses vertically.

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Crabtree is healthy again, and if Week 1 is any indication, that is going to help Kaepernick get back to his 2012 vertical passing form. The 49ers officially gained 11 yards per vertical pass attempt against Dallas, but that total would have been 17 yards per vertical pass attempt had it not been for a very questionable offensive pass interference call that nullified a 32-yard completion to Vernon Davis.

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The 49ers also ran the ball well against Dallas, with veteran Frank Gore and rookie Carlos Hyde providing a preview of the one-two battering ram that teams in the NFC West will be trying to stop in 2014.

It's that last thing that the Bears are going to have all sorts of trouble with Sunday night.

No team in the NFL allowed more yards on the ground last year than the Bears. For all the money that the team spent on the defensive side of the ball in free agency, if last week was any indication, not a thing has changed.

The Bears allowed a whopping 193 yards on the ground to the Bills. If the 49ers are able to even approach that level of success in Week 2, the Bears are toast.

Defensive end Jared Allen told ESPNChicago.com's Jeff Dickerson that he's well aware last week's performance by the Chicago defense was completely unacceptable:

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When you give up that many rushing yards, it's embarrassing. What can I say? It all starts with the run game. I know this league is about sacks and rushing the quarterback, but you do not win unless you stop the run. You don't get chances to rush the quarterback unless you stop the run.

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Of course, knowing about it and being able to do anything about it are not the same thing.

Key 1-on-1 Matchups

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Bears DE Lamarr Houston vs. 49ers QB Colin Kaepernick

It may seem a bit odd to see a defensive end and quarterback listed as a one-on-one matchup, but in this game, it's one of the keys.

As the strong-side defensive end, it will fall to Lamarr Houston to help diagnose and defend the 49ers' zone-read offense. Houston needs to be prepared to attack the ball-carrier yet disciplined enough not to bite on the fake and give Colin Kaepernick a wide-open edge.

As Jay Skurski of The Buffalo News reported, Houston's failure in that regard was a big factor in the play that sealed the game for the Bills: "In overtime, Bills running back Fred Jackson went 38 yards to the Chicago 1-yard line after taking a handoff from Manuel. The Bills quarterback froze Bears defensive end Lamarr Houston long enough to take him out of the play."

If nothing else, at least last week's game provided Houston with a learning experience heading into a matchup with a 49ers squad that runs the zone read as well as any team in the NFL.

49ers ILB Patrick Willis vs. Bears TE Martellus Bennett

He doesn't get the publicity of Brandon Marshall or Alshon Jeffery, but tight end Martellus Bennett is a big part of the Bears passing attack. After his eight-catch, 70-yard effort against the Bills, the Bears will be leaning on The Black Unicorn more than ever this week, given their injuries at the wide receiver spot.

This week, however, Bennett will also be squaring off with one of the best coverage linebackers in the NFL in Patrick Willis.

Who am I kidding? Willis is one of the NFL's best linebackers, period.

Since Pro Football Focus (subscription required) started grading players back in 2007, Willis has finished outside the top 10 inside linebackers in the NFL in pass coverage a grand total of zero times. His ability to cover tight ends without help affords the 49ers a great deal of flexibility with their safeties.

The Bears are going to need to game-plan ways to get Bennett open in space, whether it's with motion or those picks that are illegal and yet happen approximately 397 times in every NFL game.

Bears OLB Lance Briggs vs. 49ers RB Frank Gore

In the words of Captain Obvious, "Allowing 200 yards a game on the ground is a good way to make sure your NFL team is available for that Buffalo Wild Wings soiree in January that Gary mentioned."

That Captain Obvious is a smart fella.

Heading into a matchup with a 49ers team that was third in the NFL at 137.6 yards per game on the ground last year, veteran outside linebacker Lance Briggs and the Bears have to find a way to slow running back Frank Gore (and Carlos Hyde) down.

Briggs caught a lot of flak for his poor play against Buffalo, especially after leaving the team late in the week to attend the opening of his new restaurant.

However, the 33-year-old told David Haugh of the Chicago Tribune that now is no time to go all Chicken Little:

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We've only played one game. I told (defensive coordinator Mel Tucker) yesterday on my day off, 'Man, you know, I once came out in our first game and had 36 loafs and one tackle against Atlanta and got some of the same criticism; went on to have a regular year.' I'm not like everybody else. I don't hit the panic button.

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Briggs better back that clucking up Sunday night, because the Bears have zero chance of winning if they let the Niners have the success on the ground that Buffalo had.

The X-Factors

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Bears WR Santonio Holmes

For Chicago wideout Santonio Holmes, the "x" in X-factor stands for "extra important."

With Jeffery and Marshall ailing, the 30-year-old Holmes may well be Chicago's top wide receiver Sunday night.

Given that Holmes joined the team only a month ago, that's no easy feat, but offensive coordinator Aaron Kromer told Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune the team has been working furiously to get Holmes up to speed:

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He had a ton of reps this week, so that changed things a lot as far as you could see what he understood and what he didn't a lot easier. It is hard to coach a guy when he is not getting those reps on what he's done right and what he's done wrong. He probably gained more knowledge, and we gained more knowledge of what he knows, in the last couple days than we did for two weeks.

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I've said it before, and I'll say it again: A one-dimensional Bears team will get killed in San Francisco, and Holmes has to step up if the Bears are going to have a chance at pulling off the upset.

49ers ILB Michael Wilhoite

The San Francisco defense is one of the most feared in the NFL, but the loss of NaVorro Bowman and Aldon Smith has opened a couple of holes in that usually impenetrable wall.

Third-year pro Michael Wilhoite has been inserted into the starting lineup to replace Bowman, but it wasn't hard to see the difference between the two players last week against the Cowboys.

Wilhoite struggled in the game, leading the team with three missed tackles while receiving the second-lowest defensive grade on the team, according to Pro Football Focus.

Stopping Matt Forte will be priority No. 1 for the 49ers defense this week, and Wilhoite needs to play a much better game for that plan to become reality.

Bears DE Jared Allen

It seems strange to call a player who may well one day be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame an X-factor, but Jared Allen looked nothing like a Hall of Famer in last week's loss to Buffalo.

It wasn't just that Allen failed to record a sack. The 32-year-old was a complete non-factor in the game, managing only a single hurry on EJ Manuel of the Bills.

Head coach Marc Trestman told Adam Jahns of the Chicago Sun-Times that he expects Allen to bounce back in a big way against the 49ers:

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[He] played hard, ran to the ball, got chipped around a little bit — they were doubling him at times — which left opportunities for other guys. Overall, he ran to the football. It’s his first time playing in quite some time. He had barely [a] preseason. He got his feet underneath him. I know that he expects to play even better as we move forward here.

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Trestman and the Bears had better hope so, because if they can't get any more pressure on Kaepernick than they did on Manuel, it's going to be a very long night in Levi's Stadium.

Prediction

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A near-perfect effort—that's what it's going to take for the Chicago Bears to win this football game.

Even if Brandon Marshall and Alshon Jeffery were healthy, the Bears' complete inability to stop the run and lousy job of diagnosing the zone read last week against Buffalo bodes very poorly for their chances Sunday night.

Now, with hobbled receivers, they need Jay Cutler to play a stellar game and avoid the sort of stupid decisions that helped doom Chicago last week.

The Bears need a big game from Matt Forte against a San Francisco defense that isn't prone to giving those up to running backs. Further, they need Santonio Holmes to turn back the clock and play like the Super Bowl MVP he once was.

And the Chicago defense needs to put on a show, the likes of which hasn't been seen from the team since Barack Obama's first term as president.

That's about four too many things that need to break the Bears' way.

Look for a big game from Frank Gore, an easy win for San Francisco and a lot of freaking out on Chicago radio stations come Monday morning.

Prediction: San Francisco 24, Chicago 13