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CHICAGO (Ticker) -- Rookie Craig Krenzel will make his first career start at quarterback Sunday night when the Chicago Bears host the San Francisco 49ers.

After Rex Grossman went down with a season-ending knee injury, the Bears turned to Jonathan Quinn . But Quinn was ineffective in three starts and coach Lovie Smith now will turn to Krenzel.

A fifth-round pick, Krenzel led Ohio State to the national championship in 2002. He replaced Quinn to start the second half in last week's 19-7 loss at Tampa Bay and completed 9-of-19 passes for 69 yards and an interception.

With the unsettled quarterback situation, the Bears' offense has been the main culprit for a four-game losing streak. They have scored just 26 points in their last three games and rank 29th in total offense.

It looked like there could be a quarterback controversy in San Francisco between Tim Rattay and Ken Dorsey - who faced Krenzel in the Fiesta Bowl in 2002 while he was at Miami - but Rattay has seized the job.

In three games since returning from a shoulder injury, Rattay has completed 87-of-132 passes for 1,002 yards and five touchdowns with two interceptions.

Coming off their bye, the 49ers are looking to avoid falling to 0-4 on the road. Two weeks ago, Rattay passed for 286 yards and a touchdown in a 22-14 loss to the New York Jets .

The game marks a return to Chicago for Niners strong safety Tony Parrish , who played with the Bears from 1998-2001.

Matchup to watch: Bears tight end Desmond Clark against Parrish.

Series: San Francisco leads, 30-26-1.

Next week: San Francisco hosts Seattle on November 7 Chicago visits NY Giants on November 7