Bears 6 49'ers 10

So the first Thursday night game of the season was a classic defensive struggle that was though very good to watch. I mentioned in the preview for this game about the troubles Bears QB Jay Cutler has had this year with turnovers, he didn’t let me down here. Cutler threw 5 INT’s in this game, including one in the redzone to end the game. To be fair to Cutler, not all of these INT’s were his fault, but they still occurred. The major problem with the Bears is they have no offensive balance at all. RB Matt Forte struggled again running for just 41 yards on the ground. He did though go for 120 yards off screen pass plays. If the Bears cannot run the ball, the defence knows exactly what to expect, and they took full advantage of this here. 49’er RB Frank Gore ran for 104 yards and a TD, and rookie WR Crabtree again looked impressive. QB Alex Smith looked agile in the pocket for the 49’ers, and defiantly looks like an upgrade at the position over former starter Shaun Hill. The 49’ers look to be improving and have put themselves right back in the hunt in the NFC West. The Bears on the other hand look in trouble in the competitive NFC North. Their running game is a major problem going forward, and if they don’t get this problem sorted, they will really struggle to make the playoffs.

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