Bears Lose Battle Of The Backups 32-7
By Benjy Lipsman in News on Nov 20, 2012 4:00PM
Two of the NFC's top teams and top defenses faced off on Monday Night Football Monday night with their starting quarterbacks out with concussions. What most expected to be a low-scoring defensive battle instead became a rout as the San Francisco 49ers dominated the Bears in a 32-7 loss at Candlestick Park.
With Jay Cutler and Alex Smith ruled out of Monday night's game, the Bears turned to Jason Campbell under center while the 49ers started Colin Kaepernick. Campbell was starting for the 71st time in the NFL, while it was Kaepernick's first start. Yet it was Kaepernick who excelled, completing 7 of 8 passes on their first two possessions and staking the 49ers to an early 10-0 lead. In the second quarter San Francisco added another touchdown to cap a 96-yard, four minute drive. Meanwhile, the Bears offense did little, racking up just 35 yards of offense in the half and entered intermission down 20-0.
Michael Crabtree caught a 10-yard TD pass from Kaepernick two minutes into the second half to extend the 49ers' lead before the Bears finally produced some offensive output. Ending a drought of 111 minutes, 37 seconds without a touchdown, Jason Campbell hit Brandon Marshall for a 13-yard touchdown to cap a seven minute drive and prevent the shutout. The Niners tacked on a fourth quarter field goal and closed out the scoring on a safety when Jason Campbell fumbled and the ball was recovered in the end zone by Chilo Rachal, who attempted to throw the ball out of the end zone. Initially ruled intentional grounding, on review it was determined Rachal was down in the end zone and the 49ers tacked on two points.
Unlike the last time the Bears entered halftime of a Monday Night Football game down 20-0, they were unable to come back this time as San Francisco pummeled the Bears on both sides of the ball. The defense was unable to tackle any of the 49ers offensive weapons, while the San Francisco defense stopped the Bears offense and sacked Jason Campbell six times. Linebacker Aldon Smith recorded 5 1/2 of those sacks, a record versus the Bears. The Bears managed a grand total of 143 yards on offense, their worst output since the 2010 game against the Giants when Jay Cutler was sacked nine times before exiting with a concussion. As with that game, the offensive line was the primary culprit. The Bears' line was unable to provide any protection for Campbell, as Smith dominated tackles J'Marcus Webb and Gabe Carimi all night. They were also unable to open holes for Matt Forte, who gained 63 yards on 21 carries. Campbell connected on just 14 of 22 passes for 107 yards and was picked off twice. Devin Hester was his top target, catching three balls for 23 yards. Brandon Marshall was kept in check, catching just two passes for 21 yards.
"Tonight was probably the worst nightmare," Campbell said after the game. "Our goals and everything are still set ahead of us, but we've got to start improving and improving quickly. The games don't get any easier."
That's for sure. The Bears have already dropped into a tie with the Green Bay Packers in the NFC North, and the Pack hold the tiebreaker on account of their week two win. The Bears next face the Minnesota Vikings, just a game back at 6-4. A Bears loss on Sunday would drop them into third place in the division. At 7-3, the playoffs are still a possibility but the Bears have shown little ability to beat teams with winning records. Their only victory against a team that currently has a winning record was week 1's defeat of the Colts, in Andrew Luck's debut. Beating up on bad teams may get you into the postseason, but it's not going to help once you're there.