Poor Execution Dooms Chicago Bears in Week 13 Loss to San Francisco 49ers
Published by Matt Eurich on December 6, 2015
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears entered Week 13 with an opportunity to improve to .500 on the season, but they fell to 5-7 on the year following a 26-20 overtime loss to the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday afternoon. The team now sits in third place in the NFC North behind the Green Bay Packers and Minnesota Vikings.
The loss on Sunday dropped the Bears’ record at home this season to just 1-5. Chicago played well on both sides of the ball at times against San Francisco, but the team struggled with execution during key moments of the game.
Offense Could Not Find a Rhythm
Offensively, the Bears gained 364 total yards—including 170 yards on the ground—but the offense failed to capitalize on solid field position all afternoon.
Quarterback Jay Cutler completed 18 of his 31 passing attempts for 202 yards, but he threw a pick-6 in the first quarter.
After Chicago’s offense had to settle for two field-goal attempts on its first two drives of the game, Cutler was picked off by San Francisco defensive back Jimmie Ward on the team’s third possession. The former Northern Illinois University standout returned the interception 29 yards for the score.
The NFL shared a replay on Twitter:
Cutler was trying to hit wide receiver Alshon Jeffery on a screen pass on the outside, but Ward appeared to have a good read on what the Bears were trying to do on offense, per WGNRadio.com’s Adam Hoge:
Chicago’s passing game was out of sync throughout the afternoon, and Cutler was only able to connect with Jeffery four times for 85 yards on 12 targets.
Marc Mariani came up with a big 26-yard first-down catch late in the game, and wide receiver Joshua Bellamy had a key catch on third down in the second half. However, the passing game could not find a rhythm against a 49ers secondary that has struggled to slow teams down through the air this season.
While the Bears struggled to find success through the air, they did gain 170 yards on the ground on 42 carries. Matt Forte led the way with 84 yards on 21 carries and one touchdown. Rookie running back Jeremy Langford carried the ball 12 times for 59 yards, and second-year running back Ka’Deem Carey scored the go-ahead touchdown late in the fourth quarter. He finished the game with 17 yards on five carries.
Even with the success the Bears were having on the ground, offensive coordinator Adam Gase opted not to use a lot of play action to offset San Francisco’s aggressive run defense.
When the Bears needed to score to take the lead late in the fourth quarter, the offense moved the ball well. The Bears were able to jump out to a 20-13 lead on Carey’s touchdown, but the offense stalled on its final two possessions of the game.
The offense was inconsistent much of the afternoon, and its lack of execution in the first half and in overtime played a part in Chicago’s defeat in Week 13.
Defense Played Well at Times but Came Up Short in the End
Chicago’s defense held the 49ers to just 291 yards of total offense, but San Francisco quarterback Blaine Gabbert came up big when his team needed him the most.
The former first-round pick out of Missouri completed 18 of his 32 passing attempts for 196 yards with one touchdown, but 71 of those yards came on his game-winning touchdown pass to Torrey Smith in overtime.
Gabbert’s performance against the Bears was a surprise to some, including Hoge and NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport:
San Francisco struggled to move the football through the air throughout the afternoon, but the Bears allowed Smith to get free without any help over the top on the game-winning score.
Against the run, Chicago’s defense allowed just 46 rushing yards on 17 combined rushing attempts by running backs Shaun Draughn, Travis Cadet and Bruce Miller, but Gabbert gained 75 rushing yards on six carries. The 49ers finished the game with 121 rushing yards on 23 attempts.
With less than two minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, Chicago lost contain on Gabbert, and he scored a 44-yard touchdown to tie up the game.
The NFL shared a replay on Twitter:
The Bears struggled at times to contain Gabbert once he got outside of the pocket, but they did record four sacks on the afternoon. The defense has improved under coordinator Vic Fangio this season, but mistakes by the unit late in the game on Sunday cost the Bears an opportunity to solidify themselves as a contender in the playoff hunt.
Special Teams Provided a Spark, but Robbie Gould Struggled
Veteran return man Marc Mariani lost his job on kickoffs to Deonte Thompson back in Week 11, and Thompson gave the team a spark late in the fourth quarter after San Francisco tied the game up on Gabbert’s 44-yard touchdown run.
Thompson accelerated quickly out of the end zone on San Francisco’s ensuing kickoff, and a block from Carey helped spring the former Florida Gator down the sidelines. Thompson weaved in and out of traffic before he was pushed out of bounds following a 74-yard return.
Following a handful of running plays and a first down, the Bears lined up for a 36-yard field-goal attempt. Holder Pat O’Donnell received the snap cleanly from new long snapper Patrick Scales, but kicker Robbie Gould kicked the ball wide left as time expired.
It was Gould’s second miss of the afternoon.
Gould addressed his misses after the game, per Rich Campbell of the Chicago Tribune:
Prior to Sunday’s game, Gould had missed just three field goals all year—one against the Minnesota Vikings in Week 8 and two against the San Diego Chargers in Week 9—but he had made his last seven attempts between Week 10 and Week 12.
The Bears had chances to close out the game on Sunday afternoon in all three phases, but poor execution, particularly late in the game, prevented them from getting to .500 in the standings for the first time this season.
A playoff berth is not completely out of the realm of possibility for the Bears at this point, but their loss on Sunday set them back in the chase for the playoffs.
Statistical information courtesy of ESPN.com unless otherwise noted.
Matt Eurich is a Chicago Bears featured columnist for Bleacher Report and a member of the Pro Football Writers of America.
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