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USA Today Sports Media Group
USA Today Sports Media Group
Sport
Alyssa Barbieri

Week 1 picks: Who the experts are taking in Bears vs. 49ers

The Chicago Bears kick off the 2022 NFL season against the San Francisco 49ers, which kicks off the Matt Eberflus era.

But these teams couldn’t be any further apart in terms of public perception. The 49ers are expected to contend for the Super Bowl. Meanwhile, many believe the Bears are destined to finish among the worst teams in the league.

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This game is happening at the perfect time for Chicago as they’ll face an inexperienced Trey Lance, who’s making his first start as the starter for San Francisco. Justin Fields and the Bears offense will be looking to silence their doubters while Eberflus’ new-look defense will look to make an early statement.

The Bears are 6.5-point home underdogs against the 49ers, according to Tipico Sportsbook. But what do the experts think? Here’s a look:

USA TODAY

Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports

USA TODAY’s Week 1 picks:

Jarrett Bell: 49ers

Nate Davis: 49ers

Safid Deen: Bears

Tyler Dragon: 49ers

Parker Gabriel: 49ers

Mike Jones: 49ers

Lorenzo Reyes: 49ers

NFL.com

AP Photo/David Richard

Gregg Rosenthal – 49ers 24, Bears 14

Does Chicago have enough of a pass rush to make San Francisco’s new-look offensive line look young? Could the Bears’ patchwork line have picked a worse opponent to start the season against? All of the focus on Trey Lance has generally looked past the fact that the 49ers’ defense and running game — with Lance included — can win games like this one without a lot of help from the forward pass.

ESPN

Michael Reaves/Getty Images

ESPN’s Week 1 picks:

Stephania Bell: 49ers

Matt Bowe: 49ers

Mike Clay: 49ers

Jeremy Fowler: 49ers

Domonique Foxworth: 49ers

Dan Graziano: 49ers

Jason Reid: 49ers

Laura Rutledge: 49ers

Sam Wickersham: Bears

Damien Woody: No pick

CBS Sports

AP Photo/David Banks

CBS Sports’ Week 1 picks:

Pete Prisco: 49ers

Jason La Canfora: 49ers

Will Brinson: 49ers

Jared Dubin: 49ers

Ryan Wilson: 49ers

John Breech: 49ers

Dave Richard: 49ers

Jamey Eisenberg: 49ers

MMQB

Michael Reaves/Getty Images

MMQB’s Week 1 picks:

Albert Breer: 49ers

Mitch Goldich: 49ers

Gary Gramling: 49ers

Conor Orr: 49ers

John Pluym: 49ers

Sporting News

Steph Chambers/Getty Images

Vinnie Iyer – 49ers 34, Bears 17

This is the much-anticipated duel of second-year first-round QBs Trey Lance and Justin Fields. Lance inherits a stellar and deep supporting cast in replacing Jimmy Garoppolo full-time and will be comfortable passing and running on a transitioning defense. There’s optimism for Fields as a dual threat in his new offense but the Bears aren’t so stocked around him.

San Francisco tends to play well out of the West Coast under Kyle Shanahan and they will control the game with the more reliable rushing attack and more big plays downfield.

Bleacher Report

AP Photo/Stephen Brashear

Bleacher Report’s Week 1 picks:

Gary Davenport: Bears

Greg Ivory: 49ers

Ian Kenyon: 49ers

Kris Knox: Bears

Maurice Moton: 49ers

Wes O’Donnell: 49ers

Brent Sobleski: 49ers

Bottom line

Nick Cammett/Getty Images

The experts have pretty much no confidence that the Bears stand any chance in this game. Which isn’t a surprise given the national narrative surrounding Chicago since the offseason.

According to NFL Pickwatch, 94% of experts are picking the Bears to lose to the 49ers on Sunday.

Focusing specifically on the expert picks we rounded up above, here’s how the final tally looks:

49ers: 34

Bears: 4

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