The 49ers finally had a little bit of fun on Sunday.
After a couple of games in which the 49ers were embarrassed in decisive losses, they turned the tables on the Chicago Bears at Levi’s Stadium.
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The 49ers put together a dominant first half en route to a 38-13 victory over the Bears and No. 1 overall draft pick Caleb Williams.
The Bears’ seventh consecutive loss was their first since firing coach Matt Eberflus and replacing him with interim coach Thomas Brown.
The 49ers (6-7) snapped a three-game losing streak, which included losses of 38-10 and 35-10 at Green Bay and Buffalo. San Francisco has a nine-percent chance to make the NFC playoffs, per NFL.com.
This season very little has gone right for the 49ers. On Sunday, very little went wrong.
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Here are the top takeaways from the 49ers’ Week 14 game against the overmatched Bears:
Purdy eats up Bears’ D
Things have not gone well for all areas of the 49ers this season. And that includes quarterback Brock Purdy, who placed fourth in NFL Most Valuable Player balloting just a year ago.
Purdy was back in his 2023 form Sunday, and the explosive play returned to the 49ers’ offense.
Purdy completed 20 of 25 passing attempts for 325 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions and a passer rating of 145.5.
After registering just eight plays of 20 yards or more in the previous three games, the 49ers exploded for eight big plays in the first half alone.
The 49ers scored on four of their first five possessions of the game, and Purdy made it look easy as he got the ball down the field and into the hands of his playmakers.
Purdy found wide receiver Jauan Jennings on touchdown passes of 7 and 16 yards.
Jauan scores and celebrates with the Faithful 🥳 pic.twitter.com/9KU4VyMhHe
— 49ers on NBCS (@NBCS49ers) December 8, 2024
Tight end George Kittle had a huge first half with receptions on all five targets for 138 yards. The All-Pro finished with 151 total receiving yards in the win.
Purdy had just 94 yards passing in the snow of Buffalo a week earlier. He completed 16 of 18 passes for 258 yards in the first half alone Sunday.
Guerendo, rusher and receiver
Rookie running back Isaac Guerendo started his first NFL game on Sunday. It was only his second start since completing his senior season as Indiana’s Mr. Football at Avon High, where he played wide receiver.
Guerendo gained 78 yards and scored two touchdowns on 15 rushing attempts. He added two catches for 50 yards against the Bears.
More like I-SIX Guerendo 🙌 pic.twitter.com/aCVz6hzyLS
— 49ers on NBCS (@NBCS49ers) December 8, 2024
Guerendo left the game in the fourth quarter with a foot injury.
Guerendo’s only start in college — five seasons at Wisconsin and one at Louisville — came in the final game of his career when the starter opted out of the Holiday Bowl.
Guerendo showed off his receiving skills on Sunday from the first quarter of the game. And it’s that well-rounded game that could enable him to move up the depth chart next season.
Guerendo got the start due to injuries to Christian McCaffrey and Jordan Mason. He made his mark as a receiver early in the game, including a 27-yard pass to the 1-yard line. Guerendo punched it into the end zone on the next play to give the 49ers a 14-0 lead.
Defense feasts on Williams
The total yards at halftime said it all: 49ers 319, Bears 4. It was the first game in the NFL this season in which there was a first-half differential of at least 300 yards.
It was a rough day for Williams, a rookie who was the top overall pick of the 2024 NFL Draft from USC. The 49ers’ pass rush got after Williams in the first half with all four of their sacks coming on third-down plays.
Leonard Floyd and Yetur Gross-Matos picked up two sacks each, while Maliek Collins registered a sack in the first half. Floyd moved past Nick Bosa for the team lead in sacks. Bosa sat out his third consecutive game due to hip and oblique injuries.
What a game for Yetur Gross-Matos 🫡 pic.twitter.com/JPHdorlolU
— 49ers on NBCS (@NBCS49ers) December 9, 2024
In the first half, Williams completed six of nine passes for 27 yards but was sacked four times for minus-30 yards. Williams entered the game with a league-worst 49 sacks on the season.
Williams lost a fumble in the second half, which rookie defensive tackle Evan Anderson recovered for a takeaway.
The 49ers made one notable change to their starting lineup, as safety Talanoa Hufanga was activated off injured reserve and replaced Ji’Ayir Brown. Hufanga lined up alongside Malik Mustapha in the defensive backfield.