Maiocco's 49ers Report Card: Team grades in blowout win vs. Bears

The 49ers on Sunday beat up a team that now has lost seven games in a row. Based on how the 49ers looked the past two weeks, nobody could have been sure they were capable of the complete domination they showed against the Chicago Bears at Levi's Stadium. Quarterback Brock Purdy spread the ball around and receivers were running free in coach Kyle Shanahan's offense - in a throwback to recent seasons. And the defense turned up the heat on Chicago rookie quarterback Caleb Williams in the 49ers' 38-13 victory to snap a three-game losing streak. This game was decided by halftime, when the 49ers held an incredible 319 to 4 advantage over Chicago in total yards. The Bears expected to be reinvigorated in their first game since interim coach Thomas Brown replaced Matt Eberflus, who was fired after Chicago's Thanksgiving Day debacle. Instead, they looked like a team that never had a chance. Here is the report card from the 49ers' Week 14 victory: Rushing offense Rookie running back Isaac Guerendo popped a 30-yard run in the first half, showing off his 4.33 speed as he turned the corner and got upfield. Guerendo had two short touchdown runs. He has four touchdown runs on the season to pull into a tie with Brock Purdy for the team lead. Before leaving the game in the fourth quarter with a foot injury, Guerendo rushed for 78 yards on 15 carries. More like I-SIX Guerendo pic.twitter.com/aCVz6hzyLS— 49ers on NBCS (@NBCS49ers) December 8, 2024 Patrick Taylor entered and converted a fourth-down run. He also added a touchdown while rushing seven times for 25 yards. Fullback Kyle Juszczyk had a strong day as a blocker, as the 49ers rushed for 131 yards on 34 attempts. Grade: A-minus Passing offense Quarterback Brock Purdy started strong with long-gainers to running back Isaac Guerendo and tight end George Kittle early on the opening drive. He hit Jauan Jennings on touchdown passes of 7 and 16 yards in the first half. Kittle was a force in the passing game just one week after he had just one reception for 7 yards against Buffalo. On this day, the Purdy-to-Kittle combination was 6-for-6 for 151 yards. Kittle is up to 138 receiving yards … in the first half pic.twitter.com/HsTMG7ucD9— 49ers on NBCS (@NBCS49ers) December 8, 2024 Guerendo showed his ability to make plays out of the backfield with two catches for 50 yards. Purdy finished the day with 20 completions on 25 attempts for 325 yards with two touchdowns, no interceptions and a passer rating of 145.4. Grade: A-minus Rushing defense The 49ers' front seven controlled the game, as Bears running back D'Andre Swift managed only 38 yards on 14 rushing attempts. De'Vondre Campbell led the 49ers with seven tackles. Talanoa Hufanga, who re-entered the starting lineup from injured reserve, and fellow safety Malik Mustapha registered five tackles apiece. Grade: A-minus Passing defense The 49ers figured to have some opportunities to get after Williams, who entered the game as the league's most-sacked quarterback. And, indeed, they got to him early and often. Five of the 49ers' seven sacks against Williams came on third downs. Another was a fumble that Evan Anderson recovered. Yetur Gross-Matos came up with a career-high three sacks, while Leonard Floyd had two sacks to take over the team lead from Nick Bosa in that category. What a game for Yetur Gross-Matos pic.twitter.com/JPHdorlolU— 49ers on NBCS (@NBCS49ers) December 9, 2024 The Bears had just 94 net yards passing. When the game was well out of hand, Williams threw two touchdown passes to rookie Rome Odunze. Grade: A-minus Special teams Neither team got much cooking in the return game. The 49ers' punter, Pat O'Donnell, had a net 39.0 average on two punts. And return man Jacob Cowing averaged 5.5 yards on four returns. But the 49ers still found a new way to make mistakes on special teams. Jake Moody made a short field goal and all of his extra points, but he inexplicably twice booted his kickoffs short of the landing zone. Those miscues gave the Bears possession at the 40-yard line. Grade: C Coaching Coming off back-to-back blowout losses, the coaching staff deserves credit for getting the team to play sharp and with a sense of urgency. Shanahan was dialing it up on Sunday, as the 49ers carved apart the Bears' defense with an explosive mixture of run and pass. The 49ers got on a roll and in the first half and the play-calling fed into that. Chicago's defense had no answers for what San Francisco was doing. Defensive coordinator Nick Sorensen came up with some different third-down pressure packages that worked against the hesitant rookie quarterback. The Bears were expected to get the new-coach bump. But the 49ers had a plan on both sides of the ball to bump them aside without much problem. Grade: A Overall Hey, we realize the Bears have proven to be one of the NFL's worst teams. They are currently on a seven-game losing streak. But Chicago played some tight games over the past three weeks against Detroit, Minnesota and Green Bay — three of the top four teams in the NFC. The Bears lost those games by a combined seven points. The 49ers never gave Chicago a chance. Nobody could assume the 49ers would win this game after how they looked against Green Bay and Buffalo. The 49ers were dominant in the first half, and that's all they needed to put this one away. Grade: A-minus Download and follow the 49ers Talk Podcast

Maiocco’s 49ers Report Card: Team grades in blowout win vs. Bears

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