Poor grades for Chicago Bears in loss to 49ers

Dec 6, 2015; Chicago, IL, USA; San Francisco 49ers quarterback Blaine Gabbert (2) is sacked by Chicago Bears nose tackle Eddie Goldman (91) during the second half at Soldier Field. San Francisco won 26-20 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Dennis Wierzbicki-USA TODAY Sports

Defense: C+

This grade hurts.

For almost four quarters, the Chicago Bears looked like its defense was back. Even though they were playing against an offense limited by its backup running back and quarterback, the Bears looked impressive. They were getting after Blaine Gabbert in the passing game and pounding Shaun Draughn in the running game.

It was great to watch, even though they once again couldn’t force a turnover.

Then the fourth quarter – or more precisely, the two-minute warning happened – and everything went downhill.

Dec 6, 2015; Chicago, IL, USA; San Francisco 49ers quarterback Blaine Gabbert (2) runs for a 44 yard touchdown during the second half against the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field. San Francisco won 26-20 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Dennis Wierzbicki-USA TODAY Sports

The Bears held the 49ers to -5 yards in the first quarter and five yards in the third quarter. They collected four sacks, two by emerging rookie nose tackle Eddie Goldman, who is becoming the best player on the Bears’ defensive line. They held the 49ers’ running backs to 46 yards on 17 carries, less than three yards a pop.

Dec 6, 2015; Chicago, IL, USA; San Francisco 49ers quarterback Blaine Gabbert (2) spikes the ball after scoring a touchdown against the Chicago Bears in the second half at Soldier Field. Mandatory Credit: Matt Marton-USA TODAY Sports

And yet none of that matters because the Bears and their defense couldn’t finish the game.

Starting with little more than two minutes left and down 20-13, the 49ers had the ball at their own 36. Willie Young sacked Gabbert on the first play, but Gabbert hit Anquan Boldin – who, by the way, the Bears held to five catches for 37 yards, another solid effort out of the secondary – for 10 yards before Gabbert scrambled for a first down on the next play.

Gabbert ran for another seven yards before taking off on another scramble, this time up the middle, juking Amos and outrunning Anderson 44 yards to the endzone and a tie game.

In overtime, the defense forced the 49ers into a quick three-and-out, but a blown coverage on their second series led to a 71-yard touchdown pass from Gabbert to Torrey Smith, who caught all of two passes on the day.

The game reminded me of 2011 (games against Denver, Kansas City) and 2012 (Houston, Seattle) where the defense played well – in the face of poor play by the other two units – but couldn’t quite secure wins.

To be clear, this loss is not on the Bears’ defense at all; if we’re assigning blame, it goes to the offense and special teams for leaving points on the field and putting the defense in a position where they couldn’t afford to make any mistakes.

But if the Bears are going to contend, then games like Sunday’s contest need to be wins, even if the offense scuffles. The defense needs to finish, like the offense did against San Diego and like the defense has already proven it can do in the win against Green Bay.

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