Bears turn things around in a hurry to beat 49ers
SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Even if they drew up the schedule themselves, the 49ers couldn't have picked a better opponent for the first regular-season game at their new Levi's Stadium … or so it seemed in the early going.
For the first 28 minutes, the Bears' performance was either laughable or pathetic, depending on your perspective. Late in the second quarter, they trailed 17-0 and had been outgained 193-33. It was beginning to look a lot like the Bears' last road game against the 49ers, a 32-7 loss two years ago.
But, just when it appeared the game would turn into a rout, the Bears' offense came to life. Then the defense stepped up, including 2 interceptions by rookie cornerback Kyle Fuller after two-time Pro Bowl corner Charles Tillman suffered what could be a season-ending triceps injury.
It all added up to one of the most unlikely reversals of fortune in recent Bears history.
The result was a 28-20 Bears victory that left both teams at 1-1. The outcome wasn't ensured until Colin Kaepernick's fourth-down pass into the end zone glanced off the hands of a diving Michael Crabtree and fell harmlessly to the ground.
“It couldn't have ended any better,” Bears linebacker Lance Briggs said. “It was a great defensive stop there (at the end). Defense was big in the second half. (The 49ers) started real fast, but we took their best punch.”
Quarterback Jay Cutler got the comeback started with a 25-yard sprint up the middle. Two plays later, 49ers 318-pound defensive tackle buried the crown of his helmet in Cutler's chest, and the roughing call moved the Bears to the Niners' 25.
Three plays later Marshall leapt high in the end zone and plucked a Cutler pass out of the air with one hand for a 17-yard TD to bring the Bears within 17-7 just before halftime.
“When I saw one high (safety), I felt it was coming to me,” Marshall said. “I just threw my hand up in the air, and it stuck.”
That was the start of what turned out to be an extremely efficient night for Cutler, who finished with a 119.2 passer rating with 4 TD passes and no interceptions. “We had to have it,” he said of the first score. “They had a real good plan on defense, and we just had to figure it out.”
It was the first of three Cutler-to-Marshall TD connections. The 6-foot-4, five-time Pro Bowl wide receiver didn't practice all week because of a sprained ankle he suffered in Week 1, but that didn't seem to hinder him.
After the Niners extended their lead to 20-7 the Bears responded with an 80-yard drive that ended with 13:55 left in the game and brought them within 20-14. It was capped by Cutler's 5-yard flip to Marshall.
Fuller's first pick, his 20-yard return and an unsportsmanlike-conduct penalty on Kaepernick set up Cutler's 3-yard TD pass to Martellus Bennett, which gave the Bears a 21-20 lead just 21 seconds after their previous TD.
On the 49ers' next possession, Fuller picked off Kaepernick again and returned it 18 yards to the San Francisco 42. Four plays later Cutler and Marshall hooked up for their third TD, a 3-yarder.
It was a remarkable turnaround, and a lot of the credit goes to Fuller, the first-round pick from Virginia Tech.
“We knew he had it from Day One because he was manning up on Brandon and Alshon (Jeffery),” Cutler said of the rookie. “By his demeanor, you'd think he had been in the league for five years.”
“He has no fear,” Marshall said of Fuller. “There is no wide receiver or moment that's bigger than him.”
By scoring 28 of the game's final 31 points, the Bears turned what was looking like an 0-2 start and a disappointing season into a revival meeting. Critics were preparing all week to write their epitaph.
“We did a great job of alleviating the noise outside our building, which was expected,” coach Marc Trestman said. “We didn't play well early, but we were able to gather ourselves. I'm very proud of our football team.”
Just about everything before halftime was a Bears nightmare, and it started almost immediately when rookie punter Pat O'Donnell had his kick blocked and it rolled out of bounds at the Bears' 8, leading to a quick 49ers touchdown.
On their next possession the Bears managed 1 first down, but the 49ers put together a herky-jerky, 14-play, 72-yard drive that ended with a 27-yard Phil Dawson field goal and a 10-0 lead with 2:48 left in the first quarter.
On the offense's next possession, it went backward 18 yards when Brian de la Puente's shotgun snap caught Cutler by surprise, bouncing off his shin and rolling toward the Bears' end zone, where Marshall recovered it at the 2-yard line.
Given a short field after a 19-yard punt return, the 49ers quickly went 30 yards for a 17-0 lead.
After that, all three phases of the Bears' attack got it turned around … just in time.