49ers at Bears
Colin Kaepernick showed signs of returning to his perch as one of the most explosive quarterbacks in the league last week, throwing for 296 yards and three touchdowns while rushing for 113 yards, but San Francisco ran out of time in falling at Miami for its 10th straight loss. The 49ers look to snap their skid when they visit the Chicago Bears, who have lost three straight, on Sunday in a matchup of two of the NFL's worst teams
With Jay Cutler scheduled for season-ending shoulder surgery on Saturday, Matt Barkley will get the start for the Bears once again. Barkley had his best day as a pro in last week's 27-21 loss against Tennessee, throwing for 316 yards with three touchdowns despite a slew of crucial drops by his decimated receiving corps. He'll get a chance to better those numbers this week against the Niners, who rank dead last in both points allowed (344; 31.3 per game) and yards allowed (424.5). San Francisco's last win on the road was at Chicago a year ago as it got a 71-yard pass from Blaine Gabbert to Torrey Smith for the 26-20 win in overtime.
TV: 1 p.m. ET, FOX. Line: Bears -1. O/U: 43.5
ABOUT THE 49ERS (1-10): Kaepernick tried to take the game into his own hands last week and nearly succeeded but the quarterback, who has surged into the national limelight for anything but football recently, was stopped just shy of the goal line on the game's final play in the 31-24 loss. Still, it was his best day as a quarterback since 2014 when he was entrenched as a dual threat viewed as one off the game's top playmakers. The Niners' lone win of the season was a 28-0 whitewashing of the Rams on opening day and they rank 29th in the NFL in scoring (20.7 points) and 30th in passing (198 yards a game)
ABOUT THE BEARS (2-9): Sunday will be a chance for Barkley to see if he can build on his solid second half of last week despite the Bears' vast shortcomings in the receiving game. Chicago, which is still without top receiver Alshon Jeffery (suspension) for two more weeks and placed tight end Zach Miller (foot) on injured reserve a week ago, could also be missing Eddie Royal due to a toe injury. Regardless, look for Jordan Howard to carry the ball a lot as the Niners have allowed an NFL-worst 171.8 rushing yards per game and Howard ranks second to Ezekiel Elliott in rushing for rookies with 766 yards and two touchdowns.
EXTRA POINTS
1. Carlos Hyde leads the 49ers with 596 yards rushing but hasn't scored a touchdown in the past four games.
2. The Bears could get back cornerback Kyle Fuller, who took part in individual and team drills during the week. Fuller has not played this season after knee surgery.
3. Opposing quarterbacks have a 99.9 QB rating against the 49ers and have thrown 26 TDs to just seven picks.