The Chicago Bears and San Francisco 49ers are set to go head-to-head on Sunday, December 28, on the road, and this game promises to be an exciting one, because it pits two of the best teams in the NFC against each other. According to NFL research, both the Bears and 49ers are already in the postseason, so they have that stress out of the way, but the stakes for this game are still high.
Both the Bears and 49ers are in the running for the top seed in the NFC and both have a 11-4 record. So, a win for either team on Sunday will keep their hopes and dreams of a first-round bye and home-field advantage throughout the postseason alive. Looking at the NFL division standings, the Bears are looking like shoo-ins to win the NFC North but need to keep winning to do so, while the 49ers need to win to stay in the running with the Seattle Seahawks to take the top spot in the NFC West.
Also, this game is seen as a possible preview for the playoffs, because it’s totally possible that the Bears and 49ers will face each other on the road to the big game. With that in mind, just days before the game, the Bears have made a special announcement about one of their own.
NFL and Chicago Bears Honor Player Ahead of San Francisco 49ers
On Wednesday, December 24, Christmas Eve, the NFL and Chicago Bears announced that placekicker Cairo Santos is the NFC Special Teams Player of the Week. The honor comes for his performance in the team’s Saturday, December 20, 22-16 overtime win over the Green Bay Packers. It’s great news to see an unsung hero such as Santos getting respect in the NFL.
“It’s not really the individual accolades that you play for,” Santos said about the win, as reported by the Bears’ official website. “Those just come to you after you have the opportunities to affect the game the way that we were able to. I just want to thank our whole unit… Especially in a game where it meant a lot and there were other elements, everybody had to take care of their details.”
He added, “The snap. The hold. My elevation. And the blocking, they stopped a great field goal unit. So this all goes to them and to coach [Richard] Hightower for motivating and inspiring us every week to be as good as we can be.”
Chicago Bears Player Talks Tough Wind
Santos also said that the wind was “the gustiest I have ever seen.” It says a lot that the Bears were able to overcome the crazy winds to pull off the win.
“There have been stronger, consistent winds that didn’t gust like that,” Santos said regarding the wind for the Packers game. “Those aren’t too difficult to play. You have more of a feel. It’s more predictable when you have gauged the strength of the wind.’
He added of the wind situation, “But when it’s gusty like that, you can kick the same ball twice within 30 seconds and it’s going to react differently. So you just have to trust all of your fundamentals and your homework that I’ve done in that place. And you kick it with confidence.”
In other news, on Tuesday, December 23, the NFL announced the AFC and NFC lineup for this year’s Pro Bowl games, and three Chicago Bears made the cut as starters: safety Kevin Byard, guard Joe Thuney and center Drew Dalman.
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