After struggling in recent weeks, the San Francisco 49ers returned to their strong form with one of their most dominant first halves in years.
Brock Purdy threw for 325 yards and two touchdowns, leading the 49ers to a 38-13 win over the Bears and ruining interim coach Thomas Brown’s debut.
“We just got back to being us, honestly,” said linebacker Fred Warner. “The product we were putting on the field the last couple weeks just wasn’t us. We knew that. We had a great opportunity this week to come out at home and right those wrongs and get back to playing our style and what we do best.”
The 49ers (6-7) had been outscored by 53 points in their last two losses to Green Bay and Buffalo, leaving their playoff chances in doubt with key players like Christian McCaffrey, Nick Bosa, and Trent Williams injured.
Coach Kyle Shanahan had Purdy and cornerback Deommodore Lenoir speak to the team in a meeting on Saturday night, and their message had an impact.
“The message was we need to play with more of a sense of urgency and play desperate,” said tight end George Kittle. “Because you just hadn’t really sensed that.”
The 49ers played like the team they were last year, when they made it to the Super Bowl. They handed the Bears (4-9) their seventh straight loss, outgaining them by 315 yards and leading 24-0 at halftime.
Purdy threw for over 300 yards for the third time this season, with two touchdowns to Jauan Jennings. Fill-in running back Isaac Guerendo had 128 yards from scrimmage and two touchdowns. Kittle caught six passes for 151 yards, helping the 49ers score their most points of the season.
“I think we just all executed, did our job and kept it simple,” Purdy said. “I think guys weren’t overthinking anything. Just whatever was called we trusted in Kyle and executed.”
The defense helped too, pressuring rookie quarterback Caleb Williams and sacking him seven times.
The Bears hoped for a boost from firing coach Matt Eberflus after poor clock management on Thanksgiving, but instead suffered a disastrous first half. They were outgained 319-4, had only one first down, and trailed 24-0 at the break.
San Francisco’s offense moved easily down the field, scoring three touchdowns and a field goal on their first five possessions. The Bears’ offense struggled, with just minus-3 passing yards, four sacks, and a loss of 37 yards on five failed third-down attempts.
“We got our (butt) kicked today,” Williams said. “There’s no way around it. We got it handed to us. Offense, defense, special teams, we have to come out and be better.”
Williams threw two touchdown passes to Rome Odunze in the second half, but it was too late to get the Bears back in the game. Williams finished 17 of 34 for 134 yards and lost a fumble, but did not throw an interception for the seventh straight game.
Williams has now been sacked 56 times this season, the most for a Chicago quarterback since the AFL-NFL merger in 1970.
