Maiocco Observations: Guerendo, Kittle fuel 49ers’ win over Bears originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
The 49ers finally had a little fun on Sunday.
After a few games in which the 49ers were embarrassed by blowout losses, they turned things around against the Chicago Bears at Levi’s Stadium.
The 49ers put together a dominant first half en route to a 38-13 victory over the Bears and No. 1 overall draft pick, Caleb Williams.
The Bears’ seventh straight loss was the first since coach Matt Eberflus was fired and replaced by interim coach Thomas Brown.
The 49ers (6-7) ended a three-game losing streak, including 38-10 and 35-10 defeats at Green Bay and Buffalo. San Francisco has a nine percent chance of making the NFC playoffsaccording to NFL.com.
This season, very little has gone well for the 49ers. On Sunday, very little went wrong.
Here are the key takeaways from the 49ers’ Week 14 matchup against the overmatched Bears:
Purdy eats Bears’ D
Things haven’t gone well for all areas of the 49ers this season. And that includes quarterback Brock Purdywho placed fourth in NFL Most Valuable Player voting just a year ago.
Purdy was back in his 2023 form on Sunday, and the explosive play returned to the 49ers offense.
Purdy completed 20 of 25 pass attempts for 325 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions and a passer rating of 145.5.
After recording just eight plays of 20 yards or more in the previous three games, the 49ers exploded with eight big plays in the first half alone.
The 49ers scored on four of their first five possessions of the game, and Purdy made it look easy by putting the ball up the field and into the hands of his playmakers.
Purdy found wide receiver Jauan Jennings on touchdown passes of 7 and 16 yards.
Tight end George Kittle had a huge first half with receptions on all five targets for 138 yards. The All-Pro finished with 151 total receiving yards in the victory.
Purdy had rushed for just 94 yards in the Buffalo snow a week earlier. He completed 16 of 18 passes for 258 yards in the first half alone on Sunday.
Guerendo, rusher and receiver
Rookie running back Isaac Guerendo started his first NFL game on Sunday. It was only his second start since finishing his senior season as Indiana’s Mr. Football at Avon High, where he played wide receiver.
Guerendo gained 78 yards and scored two touchdowns on 15 rushing attempts. He added two catches for 50 yards against the Bears.
Guerendo left the game in the fourth quarter with a foot injury.
Guerendo’s only college start – five seasons at Wisconsin and one at Louisville – came in the final game of his career when the starter opted out of the Holiday Bowl.
Guerendo showed off his receiving skills on Sunday in the first quarter of the game. And it is this complete game that could allow him to climb the ladder next season.
Guerendo started due to injuries to Christian McCaffrey and Jordan Mason. He made his mark as a receiver early in the game, notably with a 27-yard pass to the 1-yard line. Guerendo hit it in the end zone on the next play to give the 49ers a 14-0 lead.
The defense feasts on Williams
The halftime yardage total spoke volumes: 49ers 319, Bears 4. It was the first NFL game this season in which there was a differential of at least 300 yards in the first half.
It was a tough day for Williams, a rookie who was the top pick in the 2024 NFL Draft out of USC. The 49ers pass rush preyed on Williams in the first half with all four of their sacks on third-down plays.
Leonard Floyd and Yetur Gross-Matos had two sacks each, while Maliek Collins recorded a sack in the first half. Floyd passed Nick Bosa to take the team lead in sacks. Bosa missed his third straight game with hip and oblique injuries.
In the first half, Williams completed six of nine passes for 27 yards, but was sacked four times for minus-30 yards. Williams entered the game with a league-worst 49 sacks this season.
Williams lost a fumble in the second half, which rookie defensive tackle Evan Anderson recovered for a takeaway.
The 49ers made a notable change to their starting lineup, as safety Talanoa Hufanga was activated off injured reserve and replaced Ji’Ayir Brown. Hufanga lined up alongside Malik Mustapha in the defensive backfield.
