It looks like the San Francisco 49ers could be without a key offensive player in their Week 1 tilt with the Chicago Bears on Sunday at Soldier Field. Aaron Wilson of Pro Football Network reported on Thursday that tight end George Kittle’s groin injury is considered serious enough that he’s unlikely to play this weekend. Kittle suffered the injury during practice on Monday and has yet to return to the field. This would be a significant absence for the 49ers, who are trotting out second-year quarterback Trey Lance as the starter this season. Lance will still have receivers Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk, but tight ends tend to be somewhat of a safety net for young quarterbacks. From a betting perspective, injury news like this can have a huge impact on the betting lines. When the entire market reacts together, the lines tend to move accordingly. This game was already trending toward that direction, with FanDuel’s Sportsbook listing the 49ers as a 6. 5-point favorite. Caesars Sportsbook, the official odds partner of Bet Chicago Sports, still has the spread at a full touchdown at the time of this writing. When I broke this game down in my betting preview earlier this week, I admitted that I was waiting for the Bears to get +7. 5 points on the spread. But that number will likely never come now. As a result, I have officially placed a bet on Bears +7 at Caesars Sportsbook, and you can follow my lead when you sign up today with their new-user offer. My power ratings make this game closer to 49ers -5. 5, so I think there is enough value here for Week 1. This game is a rematch of a Week 8 battle from last season. The 49ers didn’t take the lead until the fourth quarter before rallying back to record a 33-22 victory. They scored 18 points in the final frame, and that was kind of the start of this team putting it all together down the stretch. Even though these two are completely different from where they were last year, it is worth mentioning that the 49ers closed as a 4. 5-point favorite in that game. While I believe the 49ers will eventually be a contender in the NFC once again, it wouldn’t be surprising if they started off a bit rusty and this turned into more of a defensive battle. The total in this year’s matchup has moved down a point over the course of the week. It has moved from 41. 5 down to 40. 5, so hopefully you were able to get the under when I suggested doing so earlier in the week. In addition, savvy bettors will look to target the player prop market after this news. Samuel currently has an over/under of 55. 5 receiving yards at Caesars Sportsbook, with the over priced at -135 and the under listed at -101. Samuel has six catches for 171 yards in last year’s game against the Bears. He would seem like the better play to help replicate some of what Kittle offers as a receiving option. Aiyuk, meanwhile, has been getting a lot of buzz in the preseason due to his connection with Lance. Aiyuk’s line for receiving yards is currently 47. 5, with the over at -119 and the under listed at -115. Jauan Jennings has receiving yardage prop of 15. 5. .