SANTA CLARA, Calif. – The energy around Halas Hall was overwhelmingly positive, as good as it can be for a team that hadn’t won since mid-October and just fired its head coach.

The Bears were rallying behind interim head coach Thomas Brown, whose leadership style has made him a popular person inside the Bears locker room.

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Any hope for a bump following Matt Eberflus’ ouster was quickly dashed when the 49ers jumped out to an early lead and expanded it over the course of a 38-13 victory over the Bears.

Players seemed to be in shock after Sunday’s result, which was unexpected in the thoroughness of which the Bears got beat. They expected better. They believed they would be competitive and end a prolonged losing streak.

What transpired here at Levi’s Stadium was something altogether different.

“Definitely surprised,” receiver DJ Moore said. “Practice looked good. Our Friday was good. We all had the feeling that everything was good and we come out here and ain’t put up nothing, really. Just not the best.”

It might’ve been the worst showing of the season. Only the New England loss comes close.

The Bears got outgained by almost 300 percent. They gave up 7.4 yards per play. They allowed the 49ers to score touchdowns on five of six trips into the red zone. They went three and out five times in 10 possessions.

Most everything about the performance was awful.

“We’ll always be straightforward, honest and open about the things that transpired,” Brown said in his postgame press conference. “We have to do a better job of putting together a better game plan on both sides of the ball, so we can execute better and continue to challenge our guys to be at their better. Also, we have to encourage guys and demand that we stay unified. That’s a grown-man business. But there is no ‘lay-down’ or quitting on this football team, which I do love.”

That was the tone of Brown’s postgame message following a poor showing in his debut as interim head coach.

“We have no other choice but to keep going, stay together, don’t feel sorry for ourselves, nobody is going to feel sorry for us,” safety Kevin Byard III said. “He just kept it real with us that we didn’t play a good game as a whole team and we’ve got to come back ready to play.”

It was clear all week that the Bears wanted to win, to show well in Brown’s debut. Keenan Allen spoke openly about the fact that the 49ers game was essentially a last stand, a game that had to be won for any flicker of postseason hope to remain alive.

That’s extinguished, with a fourth straight losing season now secured.

“We were having great practices. We were executing, getting the job done and it just didn’t translate,” receiver Rome Odunze said. “That’s something that we have to look at internally. It has been a theme throughout the season to not be able to start fast. When you don’t do that in this league, it’s hard to compete. We need to come out with that energy and execution from snap one.”

The Bears wanted a win for themselves. They wanted it for their new head coach. They were disappointed that they weren’t able to deliver, and seemingly shocked at what transpired in the Bay Area.

Brown told his team to stay up and stay in it despite all this disappointment, which is easier said than done after falling from 4-2 to where they are now.

“Keep our heads up and continue to fight,” Odunze said. “I appreciate that. It’s a long season. We’ve still got games to be played, so we want to put our best foot forward and continue to play great football individually and hopefully come out with some dubs.”