‘We got our butts kicked’: How Bears are dealing with latest loss
SANTA CLARA, Calif. – The Bears were down three scores in a flash. San Francisco was gaining yards in massive chunks. Chicago’s offense couldn’t get anything going in the first half, continuing a season-long trend of painfully slow starts.
The 49ers scored on four of their first five drives and took a commanding four-score lead, while the Bears went three-and-out again and again.
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For all intents and purposes, the game was over at that point.
“We got our butts kicked,” interim head coach Thomas Brown said in his postgame press conference. “There’s really no other way to say it.”
Outplayed. Outcoached. Out-everythinged.
Brown’s always direct and to the point. That was no different in the face of a crushing 38-13 defeat and a now seven-game losing streak where this team has completely fallen apart. Multiple coaches have been fired. The team has lost some heartbreakers in one-score games.
This one was not like those. The 49ers took it to the Bears, thoroughly beating them in every phase.
“We got, I don’t know if Thomas said it like this, but we got our ass kicked today,” quarterback Caleb Williams said. “There’s way around it. At one point they had (319) yards going to the half and we had (four). Regardless of how we feel, we got it handed to us.”
It left the Bears searching for answers that they simply don’t have. The Bears haven’t had a lead since the first quarter of a Week 12 loss to the Minnesota Vikings, and constantly playing from behind has a negative effect on how the Bears are able to play.
“If we had an answer (for the slow starts), we would’ve solved it by now as players and coaches,” Williams said. “It’s not something you want to do, because that puts you behind in games. When you fall behind in games … you’ve got to come back at that’s a taller task. If you can get out and jump on people and impose your will, that’s what you want early in games. We haven’t been doing that.”
The Bears normally remain in games despite early offensive sluggishness because the defense is good holding opponents down or minimizing damage with field goals. Not on this day. The Bears allowed one explosive play after another. The 49ers took advantage of the Bears blitz attempts and found holes in the zone that provided George Kittle and Jauan Jennings the room to make big plays.
“Every loss is disappointing, but I felt like it just came down to the fact that we didn’t execute on our end,” linebacker T.J. Edwards said. “And we take pride in that. And just today wasn’t good enough. Not even close.”
Most Bears players didn’t sugarcoat the loss or attempt to find silver linings. They called it as they saw it, with a non-competitive effort that proved to be a shock for many.
“We just didn’t play well. We didn’t execute better,” safety Kevin Byard III said. “It’s really just take it on the chin. We didn’t play well. It’s not really any type of hidden type of [explanation]. It’s really just we didn’t play good today. We got our ass whooped. That’s what happens when you don’t execute. You don’t play well. You don’t make plays. You don’t stop guys.”