While the matchup might have a pretty big impact near the top of the 2017 NFL Draft order, ESPN doesn't seem to be too impressed with it. Sunday's game between the San Francisco 49ers (1-10) and the Chicago Bears (2-9) has been ranked as the worst Week 13 matchup by ESPN.
ESPN used their Matchup Quality metric, which uses ESPN's Football Power Index (FPI) to rank games based on how good the two teams are and how close the game is expected to be, to determine the interest on a scale from 0 to 100. Sunday night's game between the Carolina Panthers and the Seattle Seahawks came in at 66.0, which was enough to make it the best game of Week 13. The 49ers' matchup with the Bears came in at 18.0.
"The Chicago Bears are favored by 2.5 points (actually favored by 1 point as of today), according to FPI, their second-largest advantage in a game this season," Bobby Greenhalgh wrote within the breakdown. "The San Francisco 49ersare looking to end their franchise-record 10-game losing streak."
According to their FPI, the Bears have a 58 percent chance of beating the 49ers, which is tied for the second lowest percentage among Week 13 contests.
Matt Barkley will be making his second career start, which many believe makes this the most winnable game the 49ers have had in a long time. 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick has been putting up good numbers in Chip Kelly's system since the bye week and the offense has started to be more productive. However, that production has not translated to victories. The 49ers have not lost 10 straight games – a franchise record – since their Week 1 victory over the Los Angeles Rams.
Two of the 49ers' last three games have been determined by just a single score. The team remained in Florida following Sunday's loss to the Miami Dolphins and will travel to Chicago on Sunday.
