The Thomas Brown era got off to a bumpy start following a 38-13 beatdown of the Bears at the hands of the San Francisco 49ers. This game was not close at all and showed just how far apart the two teams are. Mind you, the 49ers were without several key players (Christian McCaffery, Brandon Aiyuk, Dre Greenlaw, Jordan Mason, Trent Williams & Nick Bosa) but it didn’t matter in today’s contest.
The rout was underway after the 1st 49ers drive. They quickly marched down the field for a 70-yard TD as Brock Purdy found Jauan Jennings for a score. Meanwhile the Bears offense couldn’t do anything in the 1st half. The Bears literally had only 4 yards of offense for the entire 1st half. Meanwhile before the Bears could even muster any amount of offense they were staring down the barrel of a 24-0 deficit.
It was the same story for the Bears in this game as it had been during this now 7-game losing streak. The defense allowed chunk play after chunk play. The offensive line couldn’t protect Caleb Williams. The run game was non-existent.
The 2nd half got off to a better start as Caleb Williams orchestrated a 15 play, 70 yard, 9 minute drive to get the Bears on the board as he found Rome Odunze in the endzone. Unfortunately, a Caleb Williams fumble early in the 4th quarter led to a quick 49ers TD that dashed any hopes of a Bears rally.
The Bears were beat up on both sides of the line. The offense once again got off to a horrendous start while the defense allowed 7.4 yards per play. The defense allowed nine plays of 20+ yards. That is inexcusable.
Stars of the Game
- Brock Purdy, 49ers: 20 for 25, 325 yards, 2 TD; 5 rushes, 11 yards
- George Kittle, 49ers: 6 catches, 151 yards
- Jauan Jennings, 49ers: 7 catches, 90 yards, 2 TDs
- Isaac Guerendo, 49ers: 15 rushes, 78 yards, 2 TD; 2 catches, 50 yards
- Yetur Gross-Matos, 49ers: 4 tackles, 3 sacks, 3 TFL, 3 QB hits
- Rome Odunze, Bears: 4 catches, 42 yards, 2 TD
Grading The Bears
Offense: The Bears could only gain 3.1 yards per play. Caleb Williams was harassed all game as he was sacked 7 times. Williams finished 17 of 23 for 134 yards & 2 TD. He also lost a fumble in the 4th quarter. Caleb also didn’t get any help from the run game. The Bears only gained 68 yards on the ground for a 3.2 yards per rush average. Another game where Cole Kmet didn’t have a catch. He was only targeted once… and that was for a 2-pt conversion which he dropped. The offense only gaining 4 yards in the 1st half is criminal. Grade: F
Defense: Allowing 452 yards to an offense missing several key players was wild. The defense clearly had no answers on how to defend George Kittle and Jauan Jennings. Isaac Guerendo also was able to contribute mightily to the 49ers’ offense. Brock Purdy had a near perfect game as he finished 20 for 25 for 325 yards and 2 TDs. The only real blemish was a late 4th quarter INT thrown by backup QB Brandon Allen. Giving up 9 plays of 20 yards or more was depressing as well. Also depressing was the 6 trips the 49ers took to the redzone. Grade: F
Special Teams: The only thing I can say about the special teams was Tory Taylor averaged 52.7 yards per punt. 2 of his 6 punts landed inside of the 20 yard line. Grade: C
Coaching: A terrible debut for Thomas Brown as the interim head coach. His offense looked inept for an entire half. The defense couldn’t stop anyone in the 1st half as the 49ers ripped off 24 straight points before the Bears could get any points on the board. All phases of the game were poor today. Grade: F
What’s Next
This was an embarrassing way to open up the Thomas Brown era. The Bears were manhandled on both sides of the ball and Coach Brown did not sugarcoat the beating the Bears took:
There’s not much to take away from this game. The only thing Bears fans must look for is Caleb Williams’ development and health. At this point, the team should know where the deficiencies are and the main focus is addressing the holes in this team – and there are plenty of them. The biggest key is the hope that GM Ryan Poles will take charge and get the next head coach right. If he doesn’t he will be the next one to be fired and the hamster wheel of ineptitude will continue to spin.
For now, the Bears have to lick their wounds and try to prepare for an 11-2 Vikings team that’s looking to try and win the NFC North. It will be another national TV game on Monday night. Yikes…
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