Offense Fails to Show Up in First Half as Bears Trail 49ers

Sep 14, 2014; Santa Clara, CA, USA; San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick (7) throws under pressure from Chicago Bears Jonathan Bostic (57) and Jared Allen (69) in the first quarter at Levis Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Lance Iversen-USA TODAY Sports

The Chicago Bears left a day early to adjust their bodies to the Pacific time zone in preparation to take on the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday Night Football.  Maybe the offense should have left a week early or maybe they should head straight to New York in advance of their trip to face the Jets on Monday Night Football next week.  Either way, you’d be hard pressed to believe that this was the league’s 2nd ranked offense from 2013.

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About 90 minutes before kickoff, the Bears announced that hobbled wide receivers Alshon Jeffery and Brandon Marshall would both play tonight.  Perhaps they should have re-thought that decision.  Neither has looked particularly good and in fact Jeffery has looked like he’s laboring to run his routes.  The Bears offense has looked absolutely putrid.  I could understand if both Marshall and Jeffery had been hurt during warmups, but the Bears had been preparing for this for a week.  Didn’t they have a game plan that was set at least in part knowing that their dynamic duo wouldn’t be 100%?

The defense has actually stepped up quite a bit.  It’s hard to fault them for all of the Niners’ scoring.  San Fran’s first score was set up by a blocked punt that set up a first and goal.  The second touchdown was set up following a punt from the end line. Brace yourself before you read this next sentence.  Shea McClellin had a really nice first half.  He was able to string out run plays and force them inside, where help was coming.  He got nice pressure on passing downs.  It was a really big improvement and probably the best I’ve seen him play.

Jared Allen also had a big improvement from Week 1 to Week 2.  He forced a fumble on a nice hit on a Kaepernick scramble. Chris Conte also had a nice play, making one of the most athletic interceptions you’ll see. Overall, the defense had a nice half.  They kept Collin Kaepernick mostly in check, only gaining 25 rushing yards to go with his 122 yards passing yards with 1 TD and 1 INT.  Frank Gore added 50 rushing yards. Click Next down below to continue reading…