Yesterday I broke down the matchup between the Bears rushing attack and the 49ers run defense. Today, I’ll break down the opposite matchup, the one between the 49ers run game and the Bears run D.
The 49ers run game should be favorable against the Bears if the Bears continue to feature their Tampa 2 scheme.
The Bears may have to drop a safety down in the box and play the 49ers’ run-first tendencies on 1st and 2nd downs. On 2nd-and-long and 3rd-and-3-or-more-yards, then the Bears can jump back into their Tampa 2 shell and play the pass, blitzing and fire zoning occasionally to change things up.
If the Bears attempt to defend the run from the Tampa 2 shell, they will be short one defender. But they may open with that philosophy and see how they match-up before adjusting.
Also, if the Niners use some of their exotic heavy personnel groupings with only one wide receiver, look for the Bears to bring a safety down and abandon the Tampa 2 scheme, because it is not needed for coverage and does not provide enough immediate run support.
The Bears will be vulnerable to play action passes in those situations, and it will be crucial for the 49ers wide receivers to win their one-on-one matchups.
Advantage: 49ers
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