Bear Digest

Bears Suddenly Spring to Life

WATCH: Highlights of Bears stunning the 49ers 19-10 after trailing 10-0 in the second half.

Gene Chamberlain

USA Today
In this story:

If Sunday's 19-10 Bears win in the rain and wind at Soldier Field over the San Francisco 49ers shocked the NFL, they better get used to it.

The Bears say there's more coming like this after giving their head coach Matt Ebeflus a win in his first game behind two touchdown throws from Justin Fields.

It would be a shock if they were exactly like this considering the dramatic 180-degree turn the game took. The Bears pulled off the upset after being down 10-0, while showing no signs of life on offense whatsoever.

"I think we were just trying to find a rhythm," quarterback Justin Fields said. "We were dealing–the offense, at least was dealing–with long fields. Our defense, I think they did a great job dealing with the short fields that they got, holding them in the red zone for three points on one of the drives.

"I think we were just trying to get in a rhythm and we were backed up. When you're backed up like that, you just can't use the whole playbook but second half, we found a rhythm and we executed. Proud of the guys."

It was more like the rhythm found them after Fields pulled off an unplanned play for the ages. He scrambled to his left threw all the way back across the field to Dante Pettis, who got a block from Equanimeous St. Brown and scored from 51 yards away.

In short order, the game changed completely and they won despite a one-catch, 8-yard effort from Darnell Mooney and 26 rushing yards from David Montgomery.

"We definitely feel the momentum there," Pettis said. "That was a big play."

In short order, the 49ers lost running back Eli Mitchell to a knee injury, in the process the Bears benefited from two defensive penalties and went on an 84-yard march to an 18-yard TD pass to St. Brown by Fields. And then Eddie Jackson picked off Trey Lance and returned it to the 21-yard line to set up a short TD run by Khalil Herbert.

Three straight possessions in the third and fourth quarters and three touchdownd, and even with Cairo Santos missing two PAT kicks the Bears had sufficient points to hold off Lance in his third career start.

"The secondary and linebackers covered and the front rushed and I think we just made it uncomfortable for him," defensive end Robert Quinn said. "Again on the other side the offense kept the ball, long drives, gave us a little rest and when it was our time to show up the guys stepped up."

The Bears got outgained on the ground 176 yards to 99. Lance completed 13 of 28 for 164 yards and Fields had just 121 yards passing on 8 of 17. But it was the discipline the Bears showed that led to a win in penalty yardage, combined with two key takeaways that made a difference on a rainy, sloppy day.

The Bears had three penalties for 24 yards and the 49ers 12 for 99 yards, including multiple penalties on two Bears TD drives and at least one on every Bears TD drive.

While trying to rally, the 49ers on their final four possessions punted, turned it over on downs twice and Jackson made his interception. The Bears defense held Deebo Samuel to two catches for 14 yards.

"You know, we've said from the onset that we're going to play smart, aggressive football," Eberflus said. "You can still hit, and do the things, and play aggressive, and finish plays, and do it the right way. But you do it the smart, aggressive way.

"If you go over the line, you see that, whether it's hitting after the whistle, pushing, hitting quarterbacks out of bounds, all those types of things that beat you. You beat yourself that way, and we just don't want to do that. We showed guys the ramification of that, how it hurts you as a football team field-position wise, keeps drives alive, and we had that today where a couple sustained drives through penalties that we got, that were against us, which I thought was really good."

In essence, it was Eberflus' HITS principle went on display for everyone.

The Bears hustled, played with intensity even when down 10-0, took the ball away and turned it over only once themselves on a Fields interception. They played smart football.

"I'm not surprised. I'm not surprised," said Eberflus, who might have been the only one who wasn't. "I thought the guys executed. I thought that they hung in there. 

"That’s what you’ve got to do in the NFL. It’s never going to be perfect, it’s always going to be hard. Always. Most times it comes down to the end, just like that. That’s the way the NFL is."

 Twitter: BearDigest@BearsOnMaven

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Gene Chamberlain
GENE CHAMBERLAIN

BearDigest.com publisher Gene Chamberlain has covered the Chicago Bears full time as a beat writer since 1994 and prior to this on a part-time basis for 10 years. He covered the Bears as a beat writer for Suburban Chicago Newspapers, the Daily Southtown, Copley News Service and has been a contributor for the Daily Herald, the Associated Press, Bear Report, CBS Sports.com and The Sporting News. He also has worked a prep sports writer for Tribune Newspapers and Sun-Times newspapers.

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