Observations from the 49ers’ Windy City win vs. the Bears

The San Francisco 49ers needed a win. Desperately. Yesterday, the team finally was able to grab the win that had eluded them for the past month, breaking a four-game losing streak. It wasn't the prettiest of wins, although the offense looked really good in the second half. But when you've lost four in a row, any kind of win will do.

Here are my observations from the 49ers 33-22 win over the Chicago Bears:

• Another game. Another Josh Norman penalty. Norman commits a lot of penalties, but he also has a knack for creating turnovers. He is constantly ripping at the ball, and often gets the ball loose. He did so a couple of times yesterday. It's feast or famine with Norman.
• This secondary makes me miss 1995 Marquez Pope. And that's bad. If you're not familiar with Pope, he was the defensive back with the unenviable task of replacing Deion Sanders after the 49ers last Super Bowl victory. It didn't go well. He was a safety that the 49ers converted to play cornerback. He turned out to be decent, but in 1995, he was awful.
• The secondary did make a few plays, though, including the play to seal the game, an interception by Norman on a deep ball. Finally a play on a deep ball.

• The defense was not good this game. They struggled to get off the field on third down, and made a struggling rookie quarterback look dynamic. Justin Fields had his best game in the NFL, passing for 175 yards, and rushing for 103 yards. He also accounted for two touchdowns, one of which was an incredible touchdown run. It looked like every defender missed him on that play.
• Joey Slye can't hit extra point attempts (PAT). He also missed a field goal, so he cost the 49ers at least four points. How is it that this guy can make long field goals, but not short ones? The good news is Robbie Gould will be back soon. The bad news: Gould wasn't kicking that great before he was injured. Although he does know how to make a PAT.
• Nick Bosa had another two sacks. He is so good, and is a constant menace to the opposing offense. The rest of the defensive line needs to step up. Bosa is getting chipped and double-teamed seemingly every play. Someone needs to step up and make offenses pay for that.
• Jimmy Garoppolo had a great game. He had a pretty, deep throw to Deebo Samuel, and also ran for two touchdowns. He also passed for 322 yards.
• Speaking of Samuel, he's a force of nature. This long run is an example of what he has been doing all season.

• You may not believe in Garoppolo, but his teammates do. I heard that in the first half, when the 49ers offense was not converting on third down, Garoppolo had the entire offense around him on the sidelines at one point. Each one of them had his eyes wide open, paying attention to everything Garoppolo was saying. That's impressive. And listen to the team's reaction to the postgame speeches in the locker room. They love Garoppolo. And they believe in him.
• Brandon Aiyuk had his best game this season. Let's hope this game begins to pull him out of his sophomore slump.
• That offensive push at the goal line was fun to watch. That was big-boy football. I especially loved how Garoppolo even got in on it. That was great teamwork.

• The 49ers offense had its best game of the season. They had 467 total yards (322 yards passing, 145 yards rushing). And then there was this little gem:

The 49ers are 3-4 and headed back home to face the Arizona Cardinals. They're still in the postseason race, but they will need to win some divisional games, and keep beating teams they should beat.

• Marc Adams
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