Bears News: Brown on loss to 49ers: “We got our butts kicked” |
SAN FRANCISCO, C.A. - This past Sunday marked Thomas Brown’s debut as the head coach of the Chicago Bears.
It also was the second time this season that Chicago has lost by at least 20 points. The San Francisco 49ers scored 24 points on the Bears in the first half and ultimately won the game 38-13, extending Chicago’s losing streak to seven games. “We got our butts kicked. There’s no other way to say it. (I’ll always) be straightforward, honest and open about things that transpired,” Brown said. “We (are) going to do a better job of putting together a better game plan on both sides of the ball so we can execute better and obviously continue to challenge our guys to be at their best.” Saying Chicago got their butts kicked may actually be an understatement. The 49ers put up 24 points and 319 yards on the Bears in the first half, while Chicago had four yards, no points, and one first down. On their opening drive of the second half, rookie quarterback Caleb Williams led a 16-play drive that was capped off with a four-yard touchdown reception by fellow rookie Rome Odunze to get the Bears on the board, but it was too late at that point. “I think we (did) a decent job at halftime of making adjustments. But, get the ball rolling at the beginning of some games to be (able) to lead,” Brown said. “But overall, not enough explosives on the offensive side of the ball and gave (up) way too many on defense.” Odunze’s touchdown catch may have been the highlight of the game. He scored another touchdown later in the game, the only touchdown of the game for Chicago. While the connection between Odunze and Williams has been inconsistent, when it is there, Odunze has shown he can make some elite plays. Brown attributes his elite playmaking to how he prepares each week for NFL games, as that process has been very consistent even with all of the offensive changes. “Rome has been very consistent from day one,” Brown said. “I think as far as his approach to the game, (he) is super mature, does a really good job in meetings of taking notes, being detailed, doing exactly what we ask him to do, and glad he showed up for us when he had an opportunity today.” Defensively, the Bears have a lot of problems. The 38 points scored by the 49ers were the most allowed by Chicago since week three of 2023 when the Kansas City Chiefs put up 41 points. Furthermore, San Francisco had only scored 37 points in the past three games combined before facing Chicago. Tight end George Kittle put up 150 receiving yards, while receiver Jauan Jennings had 90 yards and two touchdowns, and their third-string running back had more rushing yards than everyone on the Bears combined. Brown said there were too many coverage busts against the 49ers, and the team as a whole did not display enough violence. “On the defensive side of the ball, (which) starts first just with the communication. (There were) too many issues (with busts) on the back end when it comes to coverage-wise. It’s got to be more tied in and detailed with that, which we’ll do a better job with that going forward and then when it comes to limiting explosives, we gave up way too many explosives especially early in the game,” Brown said. “At times, you can see violence on both sides of the ball. Special teams was probably the most consistent … But, it wasn’t consistent enough throughout the four quarters and I think our overall goal is to (we figure) out how to put guys in the right spot from a personnel standpoint on both sides of the ball. But, that should be the standard for us moving forward. As far as being a physical football team, that starts first with obviously being (more) effective when it comes to running the football on offense, but also not (allowing opponents) to run it on defense.” Part of what makes the 49ers offense work is the offensive line’s ability to prevent quarterback Brock Purdy from getting sacked. Purdy has only been sacked 23 times, compared to Williams, who leads the league in times sacked with 56. Chicago’s defense could only muster up one sack against the 49ers this past Sunday, which will never lead to success. “If you can’t affect the quarterback and known passing downs, at some point someone’s going to become available,” Brown said. “So, when it comes to finding some personnel grouping to get our guys in the best spot, keeping them fresh so we can affect the quarterback on known-passing and third down was an area we talked about as far as moving forward.”
