Are You Ready for Some...Wait, it's Thursday. Bears/Niners

Football on Thursday night? True.

And the NFL Network's first installment delivers a most intriguing game, the Chicago Bears travelling to the west coast to pay a visit to the San Francisco 49ers. Chicago is coming off a dreadful 41-21 loss to the Arizona Cardinals while San Francisco also lost on Sunday to the Tennessee Titans, 34-27.

Both teams need a win desparartely if they want to make a major push for the playoffs (cue Jim Mora).



These teams haven't met since 2006 when the Bears won, 41-10. A lot has happened to both franchises since then.

Chicago (4-4) @ San Francisco (3-5)

Bears: A question popped into my head. Is Jay Cutler a younger version of Brett Favre? No, I'm not comparing the two, but think abuout it for a moment. Cutler reminds me of the Favre of over a decade ago when he would try to throw the ball into such a small space that a fly would barely fit. Now, Cutler must throw that mentality out the window. He's not Brett, and Cutler needs to be reminded of that. Coaching might help here. And RB Matt Forte (left) has actually put a couple games together (121 total yards v. Cleveland, 107 v. Arizona). The offense has been steady, but it will be the defense that gets scrutinized tonight. DT Tommie Harris, coming off his ejection for hitting Cards T Deuce Litui last week, must play his best game of the year. If Harris doesn't show up for this game, the Bears playoff chances will be trimmed. It is the Bears defense that has let them down over their last two losses (41 points to Arizona, 45 to Cincinnati). Time for "defensive coordinator" Lovie Smith to dial it up. This game is the first of back-to-back prime time games for the Bears.

49ers: The Niners gave Chicago some bulletin board material courtesy of TE Vernon Davis (right). It goes something like this:

"The guys up front, I think we can destroy them," Davis said. "I don't see anything spectacular about their front line."

The rest of the Niners spent time trying to "sanitize" Davis' remarks. One thing Mr. Davis may want to know is how HIS defense is doing. The Bears D is 15th. The Niners is 19th. Don't want to give the opponent too much ammunition and Davis did just that. If San Francisco is going to break out it three game slump, it begins with QB Alex Smith and his ball protection. Smith threw 3 INT against the Titans last week and lost a fumble, too. Losing the turnover battle is the quickest way to lose a game. But in his two and a half games this season, Smith has more TD than former starter Shaun Hill (6 to 5). The 49ers playoff train rides heavily on this game just like Chicago, the Niners defense must make the difference.

These teams are extremely similar and they have to follow the same map for a win: take care of the ball (no INT or fumbles), run the ball effectively (Chicago with Forte and San Francisco with Gore), and play smashmouth defense.