Bears vs. 49ers: Twitter Reaction and Full Postgame Quotes

The San Francisco 49ers dropped the regular-season debut of Levi's Stadium in embarrassing fashion, losing by a score of 28-20 to the Chicago Bears on Sunday Night Football.

San Francisco once led 17-0 before a slew of costly penalties and mistakes put Chicago right back into the game and eventually into the lead.

Marcio Jose Sanchez/Associated Press

There are plenty of mistakes that can be pointed out along the way. Certainly, the 49ers' coaching staff and top players will evaluate exactly what went wrong in this debacle and meltdown.

With that lead, one could state San Francisco simply "let its foot off the gas pedal," thus giving Chicago the means to climb back into contention. This is what wide receiver Michael Crabtree stated shortly after the loss, via Matt Maiocco of CSN Bay Area:

"

I should've caught the ball, but we have bigger fish to fry. We got a whole bunch of stuff we need to go to practice and work on. We need that killer instinct. We gave this game away. (There's) room for improvement. It's early in the season. I'm not going to cry over it. I'm going to keep working hard.

"

"

Michael Crabtree said he should have caught that last fourth-down pass. Now it's time to get back to work, he said.

— Matt Maiocco (@MaioccoCSN) September 15, 2014"

"

Tough loss..

— Michael Crabtree (@KingCrab15) September 15, 2014"

Crabtree nearly hauled in a fourth-quarter pass that would have put San Francisco down by two points, but the ball grazed off his hands and sealed Chicago's win.

But the incomplete pass was hardly the biggest factor in the 49ers' receiving woes.

Tony Avelar/Associated Press

Quarterback Colin Kaepernick threw three interceptions during the game, emulating what San Francisco did to Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo in Week 1.

"We hurt ourselves," Kaepernick said, via Maiocco. "We weren't executing the way we should've been."

On top of that, Kaepernick was sacked four times—an obvious problem with the offensive line having been revealed.

"

This is the first time Colin Kaepernick has ever thrown multiple interceptions against anyone other than Seattle.

— Michael David Smith (@MichaelDavSmith) September 15, 2014"

"

Colin Kaepernick will be very busy on Twitter this evening. Very busy indeed.

— Ray Ratto (@RattoCSN) September 15, 2014"

While Kaepernick's problems certainly hindered any chance of a 49ers victory, head coach Jim Harbaugh was quick to point out that the loss must fall onto the team as a whole.

"It stings to lose and we all had fingerprints on it," Harbaugh said, via Janie McCauley of The Associated Press (h/t Orange County Register). "I think we're all going to look at this one and feel we have fingerprints on it. I can't really single out anything."

"

Jim Harbaugh says everyone's fingerprints are on this 49ers loss.

— Matt Maiocco (@MaioccoCSN) September 15, 2014"

But Tim Kawakami of the San Jose Mercury News blames Kaepernick solely for the loss to Chicago. He writes:

"

Yes, it was a Kaepernick debacle: Sloppy, skittish, allegedly profane and wholly incapable of finishing off a game his teammates had under total control.

In the 49ers' regular-season opener at Levi's Stadium, in front of a national television audience, Kaepernick was the main reason the 49ers dropped this game to Chicago, 28-20.

Which isn't the way it's supposed to work, not at all.

"

Marcio Jose Sanchez/Associated Press

Kaepernick does have to bear the brunt of the blame. His four turnovers are certainly a prime reason behind the loss. But what of the lack of creative play-calling by offensive coordinator Greg Roman when San Francisco was trailing?

Why did the 49ers abandon the run against a Bears defense that had struggled stopping it a week before?

"

Greg Roman is up to his same old nonsense. Stop trying to be so cute and let your running backs run the ball.

— TURRON DAVENPORT (@TDavenport_PPI) September 15, 2014"

Kaepernick's struggles, and the offense in general, has little to do with San Francisco's woes rushing Jay Cutler and preventing Chicago wideouts Brandon Marshall and Alshon Jeffery from doing damage.

"

5 catches on the night. And THREE were for TDs. @BMarshall's Week 2 Highlights: http://t.co/KyOVH7FtR4 #CHIvsSF pic.twitter.com/h1e7nOR3hJ

— NFL (@nfl) September 15, 2014"

"

Bear down, Chicago! Bears score 21 unanswered to storm back vs 49ers for 28-20 win. • Jay Cutler: 176 Yds, 4 TD • Brandon Marshall: 3 Rec TD

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) September 15, 2014"

Ezra Shaw/Getty Images

Of course it would be easy to point out the penalties and the apparent flag-happy nature of the officiating crew—16 total against the 49ers for 118 yards, per Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle.

Matt Barrows of The Sacramento Bee breaks down some of Harbaugh's comments regarding the penalties postgame:

"

Fifteen or 16 penalties for the Niners, is that a major problem? It was today, I guess.

"[Nods head]."

What would you attribute that to?

"Don't know exactly."

What was the explanation given for the penalty on QB Colin Kaepernick? Did the official explain more what the inappropriate language was?

"No, he did not."

Did you hear anything?

"I did not."

What happened with the delay of game on the final drive?

"That shouldn't have been a delay of game. Just took too much time at the line of scrimmage."

There were a lot of penalties. Any penalties in particular that you took issue with or were the flags okay in your mind?

"Not allowed to talk about that."

"

While some of the calls may have been questionable, the undeniable fact is that San Francisco was largely undisciplined throughout the game. Allowing 118 yards just on penalties alone can kill even the best team's chances to win against any opponent.

"

Man, 49ers seem pretty deadset on completely blowing this game at this point I guess.

— Jason La Canfora (@JasonLaCanfora) September 15, 2014"

Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports essentially says it best about what the 49ers did in Week 2—do everything they can to physically lose the game.

Now, the Niners will have to put all this behind them as they prepare for the Arizona Cardinals on the road in Week 3. 

Arizona is now atop the NFC West with a 2-0 record after both San Francisco and Seattle lost this week. The 49ers need to bounce back against this tough division rival.

Hopefully, this game will provide a lesson in what happens when a team takes its foot off the pedal.

All statistics, records and accolades courtesy of Pro-Football-Reference.com and ESPN.com unless otherwise indicated.

Peter Panacy is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report, covering the San Francisco 49ers. Be sure to check out his entire archive on 49ers' news, insight and analysis.

Follow him @PeterMcShots on Twitter.