The San Francisco 49ers (4-8) got their first road win of the season in a 26-20 overtime game against the Chicago Bears (5-7) Sunday at Soldier Field.
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And it was a game in which the 49ers looked like the sure loser even after they rallied to tie the game at 20 with 1:42 remaining, Gabbert doing most of the damage with his legs and scoring the tying touchdown on a 44-yard scramble up the middle.
Gould missed a 40-yard field goal in the third quarter and then what would have been a game-winning, 36-yarder. For three hours Sunday afternoon, the 49ers offense was like the little kid who waits and fidgets throughout December for Santa Claus to show up.
“There’s no excuse for it”, Gould said.
“If he got a certain look, he knew it was there”, Chryst said. According to information supplied to the 49ers by the Elias Sports Bureau, he is the first San Francisco player to do that since John Taylor in 1989.
But Lemonier dropped the ball, giving the Bears what proved only a temporary reprieve.
“He’s taking what the defense gives him and not trying to force anything”, he said.
A 31-yard pass from Cutler to Jeffery and a pair of 14-yard gains by Matt Forte, one on a screen pass, one on a run, led to a 5-yard touchdown run by Forte that put the Bears ahead, 13-6, early in the second quarter.
After winning the coin toss, the Bears defense forced the 49ers’ seventh three-and-out of the game, before the 49ers stood stout to return the favor.
“The Bears defense makes you execute at a high level to score points”, said Gabbert, who prepared all last week for the task. (There have been rumors about Johnny Manziel coming to the Niners in the offseason; I would be floored if that happened.) I wish I could be excited about it – believe me, it would be a lot more fun – unfortunately, it’s just hard to get excited about anything having to do with this team these days. He was a shotgun-only quarterback in college who struggled to grasp even the most basic concepts of a pro-style offense with the Jaguars, but that hasn’t been a problem with San Francisco. Right tackle Kyle Long said the Bears take great pride in their 4-2 road record and need to find an added edge at home.
Despite their dramatic overtime win against Chicago on Monday, the National Football League pulled the pin on San Francisco appearing in the lucrative Sunday night prime time television broadcast slot it was supposed to appear in for a round 15 clash at home to Cincinnati on December 21 (AEDT). His passer rating of 64.2 was his lowest of the season.
Pass rush steps up: Rookie Eddie Goldman had two sacks, Jarvis Jenkins and Willie Young shared a sack as the pass rush did a fine job harassing Gabbert, whose longest throw was for 26 yards, and most of that was after the catch. He ended up with 84 yards rushing and 39 receiving to go with a touchdown run.
Since Gabbert took over the starting quarterback position, the 49ers have been 2-2 and again, he played well against the Bears. I hit the ball really well in the first half. “It worked out beautifully”. In forcing the 49ers to go three-and-out on their first three drives, they held San Francisco to 5 yards in the first quarter.
Rams kicker Zach Hocker made a 35-yard field goal with 11:30 left in the third quarter, but Arizona marched 98 yards on its ensuing possession.
Jay Cutler wasn’t as sharp as in recent weeks, throwing a costly pick-six in the first quarter, his third of the season.
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So coach-for-now Jim Tomsula told quarterback-for-now Blaine Gabbert to just appreciate the present. The 49ers also found themselves short-handed at outside linebacker when their best pass-rusher, Aaron Lynch, sustained a concussion in the second half.
