49ers ride strong second half to snag 33-22 victory over Bears

An unexpected and entertaining quarterback duel between Chicago Bears rookie Justin Fields and San Francisco 49ers veteran Jimmy Garoppolo broke out at Soldier Field in Chicago on Sunday, and in the end it was Garoppolo and the 49ers riding 24 second half points to get the best of Fields and the Bears in a 33-22 victory.

Fields entered the game coming off a five-turnover showing in a 38-3 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 7, while Garoppolo had three turnovers of his own in a 30-18 prime time loss to the Indianapolis Colts. But both quarterbacks came to play on Sunday, with the Chicago-area native Garoppolo throwing for 322 yards on 17-of-28 passing to go with two rushing touchdowns, while Fields threw for 175 yards on 19-of-27 passing with one touchdown and one interception along with 10 carries for 103 yards and one rushing touchdown.

The 49ers also got standout performances from running back Elijah Mitchell, who finished with 137 yards and one touchdown on 18 carries, and wide receiver Deebo Samuel, who caught six passes for 171 yards while setting a team record for the most receiving yards through the first seven games of a season.

First Half

The 49ers took the opening kickoff and put together an 11-play possession that saw them advance to the Bears' 30-yard line, but they came up empty after kicker Joey Slye missed on a 48-yard field goal attempt, which sailed wide right. The Bears responded with a 10-play, 41-yard drive that featured 24 rushing yards on two carries from rookie running back Khalil Herbert and finished with a 39-yard field goal from Cairo Santos for a 3-0 lead.

Mitchell got the 49ers off to a strong start on the next possession, rumbling for 27 yards on the drive's first play to get the 49ers back into Bears' territory. The 49ers once again moved to the Bears' 30-yard line to set up another 48-yard attempt from Slye, whose attempt was true this time to tie the game at 3 with just under three minutes remaining in the first quarter.

Slye's field goal was answered by the Bears with a steady 11-play, 74-yard drive that resulted in an eight-yard touchdown pass from Fields to tight end Jesse James. Fields completed four of five passes on the drive before finding James to give the Bears a 10-3 early second quarter lead.

The next drive for the 49ers followed the same pattern as their first two, as they once again moved into field goal range before failing to move past the Bears' 30-yard line. A 23-yard completion to wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk followed by a 16-yard catch by Samuel put the 49ers at the Bears' 37-yard line, but they were forced to settle for a 52-yard field goal from Slye to cut the deficit to 10-6.

The Bears opened up a 13-6 lead on their next possession, which finished with a 40-yard field goal from Santos after a 16-play, 57-yard drive. The drive chewed up over eight minutes from the clock and featured two runs of 16 yards from Fields.

Just one minute and 16 seconds remained on the clock for the 49ers when they took over at their own 25-yard line, but they were able to get something out of it due in large part to a 50-yard pass from Garoppolo to Samuel with 25 seconds to play. The pass put the 49ers at the Bears' 4-yard line and resulted in a 22-yard field goal from Slye to bring the 49ers to within 13-9 as time expired in the half.

The 49ers wound up outgaining the Bears 204 to 182 in the first half, with a 163-71 edge in passing yards. But the Bears held the ball for 19:15 compared to just 10:45 for the 49ers, while the 49ers were just two of six on third downs (compared to six of eight for the Bears) and dropped three passes over the course of the half.

Second Half

The Bears opened the second half with possession and put together another lengthy drive, moving 62 yards in 13 plays with the help of a 15-yard run from Fields and pass completions of 19 yards to James and 22 yards to wide receiver Marquise Goodwin. But the drive stalled inside the 10-yard line, which led the Bears to take a 16-9 lead on a 25-yard field goal from Santos with 8:33 remaining in the third quarter.

The 49ers seemed destined to be forced to produce the game's first punt on the next possession after two plays of no gain and an illegal block penalty on fullback Kyle Juszczyk left them with a 3rd-and-19 on their own 16-yard line. But that's when the big play ability of Samuel struck again, as he took a short pass from Garoppolo and zipped downfield for an 83-yard gain to the 1-yard line. Garoppolo scored two plays later on a 2-yard run, but Slye missed the point after attempt, leaving the 49ers within one point of the Bears at 16-15.

A punt finally came on the next possession when the 49ers forced the Bears to kick the ball away after seven plays, then the 49ers kept their momentum going with a six-play, 52-yard drive that saw them take the lead on a five-yard touchdown run by Mitchell. The score was set up in part by a 15-yard pass to Samuel, an 11-yard completion to Juszczyk, and an 11-yard run from Mitchell, then Mitchell plowed in for the score before Garoppolo connected with Brandon Aiyuk for a two-point conversion and a 23-16 lead.

Fields struck back on the next possession by finishing a nine-play, 68-yard drive with one of the best plays of his young NFL career. The Bears faced a 4th-and-1 at the 49ers' 22-yard line when Fields rolled right, then scrambled back to the left while avoiding a number of 49ers' defenders en route to the end zone. But the Bears found some kicking woes of their own on the point after attempt, which was missed by Santos to leave the 49ers with a 23-22 lead.

The 49ers answered with a quarterback touchdown run of their own, which was the second of the game from Garoppolo. The offense sliced through the Bears' defense for a five-play, 75-yard drive, which included a 27-yard run from Mitchell, a 19-yard completion to Sanu, and a 23-yard completion to running back JaMycal Hasty, then Garoppolo scampered in from five yards out to give the 49ers their third consecutive touchdown drive. The point after from Slye gave the 49ers a 30-22 lead with 6:34 to play.

The 49ers' defense answered the bell on the next possession, forcing a punt after four plays following a third-down sack by pass rusher Samson Ebukam, who was flagged for a roughing the passer penalty earlier in the drive. Mitchell ran for a 39-yard gain on the first play of the 49ers' next drive, then added a 13-yard run to put the 49ers inside the 20. The 49ers ran the clock down to the two-minute warning before adding a 32-yard field goal from Slye to take a 33-22 lead. An interception by cornerback Josh Norman on the next possession put the 49ers in position to run out the clock and seal their first victory in five games.

The 49ers (3-4) head back into divisional play next Sunday as they host the Arizona Cardinals (7-1) for a 1:25 p.m. PT start at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California. The Cardinals knocked off the 49ers 17-10 in Arizona on October 10 and will be coming into next week's game with some extra rest after falling to the Green Bay Packers on Thursday, October 28.

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