The Bears look for an interim coach bump when they visit the struggling 49ers
SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — Once-promising seasons hit new lows for the Chicago Bears and San Francisco 49ers last week.
Another late-game meltdown sent the Bears to their sixth straight loss and led to the firing of coach Matt Eberflus. The 49ers suffered their second straight blowout loss and more crushing injuries to go from Super Bowl contenders to outside the playoff picture in a matter of weeks.
The two reeling teams will try to get back on track on Sunday when the Bears (4-8) visit the 49ers (5-7) in Chicago’s first game under interim coach Thomas Brown.
“I told them a minute ago after practice there is no confidence loss at all as far as what I think about them,” Brown said Wednesday. “I don’t care what anybody else thinks about them. I think we have a very talented football team. It’s about just putting the work in every single day to give us an opportunity to win.”
The Bears are hoping to get an emotional boost from the first in-season firing of a head coach in franchise history. Over the last 10 seasons, teams with interim coaches are 13-11 in their first game with the new coach. Those teams had a .284 winning percentage at the time they fired their coaches.
“I wouldn’t say a new voice was needed. I would say there was change that was needed,” rookie quarterback Caleb Williams said, pointing to a need for more accountability and better communication.
The Niners came into the season as the favorites to get back to the Super Bowl from the NFC after losing the title game to Kansas City last season. But a series of key injuries, bad losses and spotty play have left them in last place in the NFC West with only slim hopes of even reaching the postseason.
San Francisco lost 38-10 to Green Bay and 35-10 to Buffalo in back-to-back weeks and lost star running back Christian McCaffrey to a knee injury last week that will sideline him for at least the rest of the regular season.
The Niners already lost key players Brandon Aiyuk and Javon Hargrave to season-ending injuries and are preparing to be without stars Nick Bosa and Trent Williams for a third straight week.
“It’s just been a rocky mountain for real with the injuries and other stuff we’ve had to go through this season,” receiver Deebo Samuel said. “Our record don’t show how really good we are as a team. We’re still believing in this locker room.”
Chaotic education
Williams described Eberflus’ firing as “interesting” and “tough” and vowed to “roll with the punches” while insisting the chaos and turnover of the past few weeks could help him handle similar situations in the future.
Just 12 games into his NFL career, the prized quarterback is on his second head coach and third offensive coordinator, though Brown will continue to call plays. How does he keep the faith that his career is in good hands with this organization?
“The first part is understanding I can’t control,” Williams said. “Even if I understand or don’t understand, that doesn’t matter. I have to roll with the punches like I said before. I don’t control everything.”
Guerendo’s chance
With McCaffrey and Jordan Mason injured, the Niners running game will turn to rookie Isaac Guerendo. The fourth-round pick has 42 carries for 246 yards and two TDs this season and will be making his second start in either college or the pros. Coach Kyle Shanahan said the progress Guerendo has made since training camp makes him ready for his new role as he sees him running with more “urgency.”
“I think it takes guys some time,” Shanahan said. “You start to get a feel for it the more, if you’ve got the right stuff, the more you get reps, the more you can adjust to it. How hard you’ve got to hit stuff, how quick those holes close, how when there is a hole how you have to hit it full-speed and can’t hesitate at all or it closes like that. We’ve seen that stuff get better in practice and we’ve seen it carry over into games.”
Stop the run
San Francisco’s usually stout run defense has been anything but that this season. The Niners have struggled to slow down the opposition on the ground all year with the problem getting worse recently. The 49ers allowed 389 yards rushing the past two weeks.
“It’s been so frustrating because I know what is supposed to look like,” linebacker Fred Warner said. “That’s not it.”
Stopping the run also continues to be a sore spot for Chicago.
The Bears rank 25th overall against the run and 29th in yards allowed per rush after another difficult outing last week. They gave up 194 yards, including 144 in the first half as the Lions grabbed a 16-0 lead.
Losing veteran defensive tackle Andrew Billings to a torn pectoral muscle last month did not help. He was injured in a Week 9 loss at Arizona and is expected to miss the remainder of the season after having surgery.
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AP Sports Writer Andrew Seligman contributed to this report.
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By JOSH DUBOW
AP Pro Football Writer
