Gabriel: Bears-49ers Review
By Greg Gabriel--
(CBS) After the Bears' loss to the Lions on Oct. 18, I wrote in the defeat was on Chicago's coaching staff. The Bears tied that game up because of aggressive play-calling in the fourth quarter but didn't continue with that approach in an overtime loss.
In another overtime defeat on Sunday, that wasn't the case. Chicago's 26-20 loss to San Francisco at Soldier Field should be pinned on the players, as they were the ones who made the mistakes that cost the Bears in a brutal setback.
Bears quarterback Jay Cutler had been playing the best football of his career but had an off-day, as he finished 18-of-31 for 202 yards, no touchdowns and an interception. Against the Packers on Thanksgiving night, the Bears had a number of bubble screen plays work well, but a few of those came close to being intercepted. On Sunday, the 49ers were waiting for the play, and defensive back Jimmie Ward jumped the route to get an important pick-six. That play alone changed the game. The Bears had been dominating up until that point, but the big play gave the 49ers new life and got them into the game.
I felt Cutler struggled most of the day. His timing was off, as was his accuracy. He missed too many open receivers, some of which had the potential to become big plays.
During the week, the Bears made a change at the long snapper position by signing Patrick Scales, who wasn't at his best Sunday. He had a low snap on one of the Bears' punts, and his snap on the first of Robbie Gould's two field-goal misses was off target, slowing up the timing of the whole process. While the snap on the potential game-winning field goal was perfect, the earlier poor snaps may have effected Gould's thinking and timing.
On San Francisco's first offensive series, Chicago forced a three-and-out. The Bears then tried a gadget punt return play in which primary returner Marc Mariani went the opposite direction of where the punt was going. With all of San Francisco's coverage men following Mariani, it left Bryce Callahan all alone on the left sideline to return the kick. He took it back for a touchdown, but a needless penalty on LaRoy Reynolds took the points off the board. Miscues like that have cost the Bears time and again in the return game this season.
As has been the case most of this season, both the offensive and defensive game plans were solid. The execution of the plans by the players left something to be desired. As I have stated numerous times this season, this Bears team has to be just about perfect to win. They don't have enough quality talent to win games on talent alone. They have to play hard and limit the numbers of mistakes they make. That wasn't the case Sunday.
In the last few weeks, we have all got caught up in playoff fever. We knew that the Bears' final five games were all winnable if they played quality-to-flawless football. While five straight wins didn't guarantee a playoff berth, it kept the team in the discussion, and that alone was satisfactory to the fans.
Then reality set in again. The Bears lost the first of the important final five, and the loss was to perhaps the worst team of the five. It again reminds us that this Bears team isn't a playoff team. It's a seven- or eight-win team that's most likely four to five more quality players away from being a contender.
While the team is much improved over the last two Bears teams, it's an average club. I know how frustrating that can be for the fans, but be patient, for this team is going in the right direction.
Greg Gabriel is a former NFL talent evaluator who is an on-air contributor for 670 The Score. Follow him on Twitter @greggabe.