Chicago Bears vs. San Francisco 49ers: Full Report-Card Grades for Chicago

The Chicago Bears stumbled out of the gate early Sunday night against the San Francisco 49ers, giving up a blocked punt and an easy score, but Jay Cutler and his crew prevailed and improved to 1-1 on the season after a 28-20 victory on Sunday Night Football.

The defense played well, particularly in the second half, forcing 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick to throw three interceptions on the night and limiting the 49ers to just three second-half points. 

The Bears trailed 17-0 near the end of the second quarter before Jay Cutler found Brandon Marshall in the end zone for a touchdown, giving the team new life heading into halftime.

Cutler came out firing in the second half, throwing three touchdowns, including two more to an injured Marshall, before turning it over to the defense to stop the 49ers at the end of the game.

Few expected the team to win, particularly with Marshall and Alshon Jeffery nursing injuries they suffered in Week 1, via Sports Illustrated's Chris Burke:

"

Pretty remarkable win by the Bears. Weren't even sure Marshall or Jeffery would play, then come back from 17 down to win.

— Chris Burke (@ChrisBurke_SI) September 15, 2014"

According to Chicago Bears Radio Network sideline reporter Zach Zaidman, Chicago's 17-point comeback was their largest since 2006:

"

The 17-point comeback by the #Bears in San Francisco was the biggest comeback they're had since rallying from 20 down in Arizona in 2006.

— Zach Zaidman (@ZachZaidman) September 15, 2014"

After a disappointing loss in Week 1 against the Buffalo Bills, the Bears proved on Sunday night that they can hang with one of the league's best teams.

Here are our report-card grades for each Bears unit following their Week 2 win over the San Francisco 49ers.

Quarterback

Tony Avelar/Associated Press

The first half did not start off well for Jay Cutler and Chicago's offense.

Cutler struggled to find a rhythm in the early going and finished the first half going 10-of-20 for 64 yards and one touchdown.

Prior to his touchdown pass to Brandon Marshall near the end of the first half, Cutler took this big hit from San Francisco's Quinton Dial.

"

Anyone seen Cutler's spleen? https://t.co/oRP1vAgFZg

— Peyton's Head (@PeytonsHead) September 15, 2014"

Two plays after the hit, Cutler found Marshall in the end zone and helped give the team some life heading into halftime down 17-7.

In the second half, he went 13-of-14 for 112 yards and three touchdowns.

On top of his great night throwing the football, he also led the team in rushing yards, via the team's official Twitter account:

"

Cutler was also the #Bears' leading rusher with 25 yds on 5 carries. #CHIvsSF

— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) September 15, 2014"

After a poor outing in Week 1, Cutler responded with a great game on Sunday Night Football, particularly in the second half. With both of his top receivers, Brandon Marshall and Alshon Jeffery, reeling from injuries suffered against Buffalo, Cutler knew when he could rely on his best receivers and knew when he needed to look elsewhere.

He did have a couple of questionable throws, but overall, Cutler played a great game Sunday night.

Grade: A

Running Back

Tony Avelar/Associated Press

A week after proving he is one of the league's most versatile running backs, Matt Forte struggled to get anything going on Sunday night.

He carried the football 12 times for just 21 yards and hauled in five catches for just 15 yards.

With Brandon Marshall and Alshon Jeffery battling the effects of injuries suffered in Week 1 against Buffalo, the 49ers made it a point to keep Forte from beating them on the ground. His longest run of the night was for just seven yards, while most of his receptions came on failed screen passes.

He had success at times when running outside of the tackles, but the 49ers did a nice job of bottling him up on any runs up the middle.

While his lack of production cannot solely be placed on him, he did struggle to find a rhythm early, prompting the team to look to the air to pick up yards.

Grade: D+

Wide Receiver and Tight End

Tony Avelar/Associated Press

After both suffered injuries against the Buffalo Bills in Week 1, it came as a bit of a surprise when wide receivers Brandon Marshall and Alshon Jeffery were listed as active for Sunday night's game, via CSNChicago.com's John Mullin:

"

#Bears have B Marshall and A Jeffery active - major surprise on Jeffery, who couldn't finish vs Buffalo

— John Mullin (@CSNMoonMullin) September 14, 2014"

At the beginning of the game, both Marshall and Jeffery looked a step slow, which caused Jay Cutler to overthrow them on occasion in the first and second quarters. 

But, when push came to shove, both receivers came up big, particularly Marshall.

The veteran wide receiver finished the game with five catches for 48 yards and three touchdowns, including a tremendous one-handed catch at the end of the first half. Sports Illustrated's Peter Bukowski:

"

Brandon Marshall like "Look what I found!" **Yoink** https://t.co/IJElIuyNT8

— Peter Bukowski (@BukoTime) September 15, 2014"

Despite his limitations with a hamstring injury, Jeffery finished with three catches for 47 yards. Bleacher Report's Dave Siebert, M.D. noted Jeffery should be better next week:

"

5) Alshon Jeffery looked a bit off w/ hamstring injury. 3 receptions for 47 yards. However, no obvious aggravation. Likely better next week.

— Dave Siebert, M.D. (@DaveMSiebert) September 15, 2014"

Backup Santonio Holmes hauled in two catches for 20 yards, while rookie Josh Bellamy was targeted just once.

With Marshall and Jeffery hampered by injuries, Martellus Bennett picked up some of the slack in the passing game. The tight end finished with seven catches for 37 yards, including a three-yard touchdown pass from Cutler that gave Chicago the lead early in the fourth quarter. 

While he didn't pick up a lot of yards, Bennett was consistent throughout the game and appeared to be Cutler's go-to guy early in the first half. 

Backup Dante Rosario also finished the game with one catch for nine yards late in the third quarter, which resulted in a first down during the team's 13-play, 80-yard touchdown drive. 

Despite all of their limitations Sunday night, Marshall and Jeffery delivered when the team needed them most. Unlike the other positions, their grade is based more off effort than overall production. 

Grade: B+

Offensive Line

Ezra Shaw/Getty Images

Despite having two new starters at left guard and center in Michael Ola and Brian de la Puente, respectively, Chicago's offensive line held its own against a tough San Francisco front four.

The game started on a sour note for de la Puente when he botched the snap to Jay Cutler on the opening possession, via Jeff Dickerson of ESPNChicago.com:

"

Huge break for #Bears. de la Puente snaps ball before Cutler is ready. Live ball. But #Bears recover on own 2 yard line.

— Jeff Dickerson (@ESPNChiBears) September 15, 2014"

In 34 dropbacks for Cutler, the 49ers were only able to sack him once. That occurred when Justin Smith ran right through Ola, via Rich Campbell of the Chicago Tribune:

"

49ers DL Justin Smith beat LG Michael Ola with a bull rush there. Better leverage and just kept pushing. Bears passing game lacks explosion

— Rich Campbell (@Rich_Campbell) September 15, 2014"

After the shaky start, the offensive line found a groove in the second half, consistently giving Cutler a clean pocket from which to work.

The offensive line would have gotten a higher grade had the running game been more productive, but because of how well it protected Cutler, they finish Week 2 with another positive grade.

Grade: B-

Defensive Line

Ezra Shaw/Getty Images

After failing to get much pressure on E.J. Manuel in Week 1, Chicago's defensive line stepped up Sunday night against the San Francisco 49ers.

Willie Young led the attack with two sacks, while Stephen Paea finished with one. 

Prized free agent Jared Allen finally got some pressure on the quarterback Sunday night, but Young had the biggest impact among Chicago's defensive linemen, via Mark Schanowski of Comcast SportsNet Chicago:

"

Bears paid a lot of money to get Jared Allen, but Willie Young was the difference maker on the other side. Totally dominant!

— Mark Schanowski (@MarkSchanowski) September 15, 2014"

Young did a terrific job all night of controlling his gaps on running plays, as well as keeping Colin Kaepernick from getting to the edge on a handful of rollouts.

Despite not registering a sack, Allen did force an early fumble with a great hit on Kaepernick, via Bleacher Report's Matt Bowen:

"

Allen played the Dive & produced the fumble vs. Kaepernick.

— Matt Bowen (@MattBowen41) September 15, 2014"

The middle of the defensive line did a nice job of slowing down the 49ers running game, limiting Frank Gore to 64 yards on 13 carries.

The defensive line took a hit in the second half when Jeremiah Ratliff left with a concussion, In his absence, rookies Ego Ferguson and Will Sutton filled in admirably, with Sutton catching the eye of NBCChicago.com's James Neveau:

"

@MattSpiegel670 Will Sutton is looking just fine in place of Ratliff. What a blessing depth has been there this evening.

— James Neveau (@JamesNeveau) September 15, 2014"

Only Ferguson got on the stat sheet, recording one tackle. But both first-year players were able to get some pressure up the middle against a tough San Francisco offensive line.

After all of its struggles last week, the defensive line finally looked like an improved unit over the one that struggled mightily last season.

Grade: B+

Linebacker

Marcio Jose Sanchez/Associated Press

Easily the most improved position group from Week 1 to Week 2, Chicago's linebackers looked like an entirely different group than the one that stepped out on the field against the Buffalo Bills last week.

After looking very slow against the Bills in Week 1, Lance Briggs looked like his old self Sunday night against the 49ers, evidenced by these tweets from the Chicago Tribune's Rich Campbell and 670 The Score radio host Matt Spiegel:

"

Nice job by Lance Briggs to make himself narrow, shoot his gap and hit the ballcarrier behind the line of scrimmage on that third-and-1.

— Rich Campbell (@Rich_Campbell) September 15, 2014"

"

Briggs has played really well, in the 2nd half especially. Maybe the media pissed him off. #NotReally

— Matt Spiegel (@MattSpiegel670) September 15, 2014"

Briggs finished the game with six tackles, including a tackle for loss on a critical third-down play.

After struggling in the first half, Jon Bostic played a much better game in the second half. He struggled with over-pursuing in the first half, a product of having too much speed and not knowing what to do with it, via 670 The Score talk show host Laurence Holmes:

"

When will Bostic learn? So much speed and doesn't know what to do with it. #Bears

— Laurence Holmes (@LaurenceWHolmes) September 15, 2014"

In the second half, the game appeared to have slowed down for Bostic, and he made much better decisions when pursuing the ball-carrier. He finished the game with four tackles, including one tackle for loss. 

The adjustment from defensive end to strong-side linebacker has not exactly been a smooth one for former first-round pick Shea McClellin, but he showed improvement on Sunday night.

He struggled a couple of times in pass coverage but was able to utilize his speed to take down Kaepernick, via Adam Hoge of TheGameChicago.com:

"

Shea made a pretty good play there. Showed that speed.

— Adam Hoge (@AdamHoge) September 15, 2014"

After failing to slow down the Buffalo offense last week, the linebackers came up big on Sunday night.

Grade: B+

Secondary

Tony Avelar/Associated Press

After missing eight games with a triceps injury last season, Charles Tillman appeared to have suffered the same injury Sunday night against San Francisco and was seen weeping on the sidelines, via CBSSports.com's Will Brinson:

"

Damn. Charles Tillman weeping on the sideline after triceps injury. Terrible news for great guypic.twitter.com/LehfNATonK

— Will Brinson (@WillBrinson) September 15, 2014"

After the game, Tillman was not in the locker room, via Adam Hoge of TheGameChicago.com, but he did tweet out a thank you for all of the well-wishes he received:

"

Bear fans and Chicago, thank you for your words of encouragement and prayers...I really appreciate it. #BearDown

— Charles Tillman (@peanuttillman) September 15, 2014"

“The mentality of the game is you’re one play away,” rookie Kyle Fuller said to the media after the game, via ESPNChicago.com's Jeff Dickerson. “If somebody goes down, you have to step it up and do the same things that he does, like make plays."

Fuller certainly did make plays, as he picked off Colin Kaepernick twice following Tillman's injury. 

While he had a nice deflection on his first interception, his second interception was more impressive, via Bleacher Report's Matt Bowen:

"

Route recognition from Fuller on 2nd INT stands out. Deep 1/3 player. Stacks on curl route, gets eyes back to QB. Jumps the 7 (corner).

— Matt Bowen (@MattBowen41) September 15, 2014"

Because of his recognition of the route, Fuller was able to focus his eyes back on Kaepernick and break on the football, via Pro Football Zone:

"

Fuller with another INT https://t.co/gUSoikqqxN

— ProFootballZone (@ProFootballZone) September 15, 2014"

At the safety position, Chris Conte made his presence known early with an interception but had to leave the game due to a shoulder injury, via the Chicago Tribune's Dan Wiederer:

"

Chris Conte out for the rest of the game. Shoulder injury.

— Dan Wiederer (@danwiederer) September 15, 2014"

In his absence, Danny McCray filled in nicely while strong safety Ryan Mundy led the team with seven tackles.

Despite the injury to Tillman, the secondary had a strong showing against a team that can typically wreak havoc through the air and on the ground.

Grade: A

Special Teams

Jeff Gross/Getty Images

Chicago's special teams unit struggled right out of the gate Sunday night, with Senorise Perry deciding to take the football out of the end zone on a ball that landed seven yards deep.

Perry only brought the football out to the 14-yard line, and the Bears were penalized seven yards on a holding penalty against running back Shaun Draughn.

After the offense failed to move the ball on their first drive, the 49ers blocked Pat O'Donnell's punt and scored three plays later on a touchdown pass from Colin Kaepernick to Michael Crabtree.

Perry did not return another kick on the night, and O'Donnell finished the game with five punts for 238 yards.

Because of the early struggles which led to a 49ers touchdown, the special teams unit finished with an average grade for the night. 

Grade: C

Coaching

Tony Avelar/Associated Press

With his offensive unit struggling to find any rhythm, Bears head coach Marc Trestman made great adjustments during halftime, particularly with his wide receiving corps.

Instead of trying to utilize Alshon Jeffery's size and speed to create space in the passing game, Trestman went to more double moves, allowing Jeffery to still create separation despite his hamstring injury. 

Just as Trestman made some adjustments at halftime, defensive coordinator Mel Tucker seemed to have finally found something on defense.

After instilling a plain, vanilla offense in the first half, Tucker came out with various looks up front in the second half to confuse Colin Kaepernick, via TheGameChicago.com's Adam Hoge:

"

Looking forward to watching this tape tomorrow. Mel Tucker has definitely shown some new stuff in there tonight, as I hinted at this week.

— Adam Hoge (@AdamHoge) September 15, 2014"

Tucker was not afraid to send blitzes from every level, utilizing the speed of linebacker Shea McClellin and cornerback Tim Jennings on occasion to help create confusion.

A week after struggling to make much of any adjustments at halftime, both Trestman and Tucker helped change the course of Sunday night's game with a few halftime tweaks.

Grade: B+

Final Grades

Tony Avelar/Associated Press

Positional Unit	Overall Grade
QB	A
RB	D+
WR/TE	B+
OL	B-
DL	B+
LB	B+
Secondary	A
Special Teams	C
Coaching	B+
Cumulative Grade	B

After a shaky start, the Chicago Bears proved on Sunday night that they deserve to be in the playoff discussion throughout the 2014 season.

Despite injuries to some of their best players, the team rallied around Jay Cutler on offense and rookie Kyle Fuller on defense to achieve one of the biggest wins in Marc Trestman's career.

The Bears will once again be in the national spotlight as they head to New York next Monday to take on the New York Jets on Monday Night Football.

If they can continue to show improvements on defense, the Bears have a chance to make some real noise in 2014. 

Record/statistical information provided via email from the Chicago Bears or ESPN.com.

Matt Eurich is an NFL/Chicago Bears Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report.

Follow @MattEurich