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It wasn't always pretty, but the 49ers finally snapped their four-game losing streak on Sunday, riding a strong finish from quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo to claim a 33-22 victory over the Bears and inch closer to .500. For much of the afternoon, Chicago rookie Justin Fields looked like the game's best signal-caller, shining both on the ground and through the air in easily the best start of his young NFL career (ironically, without coach Matt Nagy, who was unavailable due to COVID). But San Francisco's offense came alive when it mattered most, with Garoppolo scoring twice on the ground to help the 49ers seal the road win.
Here are some immediate takeaways from the 49ers' victory over the Bears in Week 8:
Why the 49ers won
Let's start with Garoppolo, since he entered the game in a polarizing place, having gotten another vote of confidence from coach Kyle Shanahan despite an uneven, oft-disappointing 2021 to date. The veteran was just so-so out of the gate, as per usual, but he seemed to find his touch as the game wore on, hitting Deebo Samuel and Mohamed Sanu on several key shots downfield. Speaking of Samuel, the wideout was a true game-changer here, exploding every time he touched the ball and almost single-handedly guiding San Francisco's comeback from a second-half deficit. A quietly efficient game from Elijah Mitchell as the leading rusher helped. And the defense, while not particularly dominant, still got some important pressure in crunch time, with Nick Bosa logging a pair of sacks to thwart Fields down the stretch.
Why the Bears lost
Blame it on the secondary, which lost Eddie Jackson to injury, hasn't been great all year and consistently struggled to contain Samuel and Co. in the second half. Fields wasn't perfect, holding the ball too long on a handful of plays late, but he was the absolute least of their concerns, topping 100 yards rushing and showing the most poise he's ever displayed as an NFL thrower. Play-calling didn't always help, with too many lateral plays dialed up on third-and-manageable situations. And yet defense still stands out as the biggest reason for defeat. With no Khalil Mack, they almost never got after Garoppolo, and the second level could not stop Mitchell at any point in the contest.
Turning point
With seven-and-a-half-minutes left in the third quarter, the 49ers trailed 16-9 and had gotten little going offensively. Facing a third-and-19 from their own 16-yard line, they dialed up a short pass play to Samuel, who hauled it in and proceeded to shoot out of a cannon for a whopping 84 yards, all the way to the goal line. Garoppolo later capped the drive with an official touchdown, but the big play sparked the sudden rejuvenation of Shanahan's offense, at least in this matchup, and the Niners never looked back.
Play of the game
Samuel deserves every bit of love he can get for that 84-yard catch-and-run, which helped fuel the 49ers' second-half comeback:
We're gonna cheat and give you another one, though, because Fields was equally as magical on a fourth-and-1 score:
What's next
With their first win since Week 2 now in the books, the 49ers (3-4) will return home for an important Week 9 divisional matchup against the Cardinals (7-1), who suffered their first loss of the season against the Packers on "Thursday Night Football." The Bears (3-5), meanwhile, will presumably get Nagy back on the sidelines for a Nov. 8 prime-time showdown with the Steelers on "Monday Night Football."
