49ers beat Bears despite defensive struggles vs. Justin Fields

An offensively challenged Justin Fields and the Bears frustrated the 49ers defense for much of Week 8 despite the Niners getting a much-needed win.

For those thinking the San Francisco 49ers could continue the trend of making Chicago Bears rookie quarterback Justin Fields look bad in Week 8, well, that didn’t happen.

Chicago ended the 49ers’ four-game losing streak by falling to head coach Kyle Shanahan’s squad 33-22 at Soldier Field in a game when coordinator DeMeco Ryans’ defense had few answers but Shanahan’s offense finally hit a stride after halftime.

Fields, the No. 11 overall pick from this year’s NFL Draft who entered the game completing just over 57 percent of his passes with only two touchdowns tossed against six interceptions, looked much more like a polished two-year pro against a Niners defense that seemingly had no answers for the scuffling rookie.

Especially considering Fields and the Bears went 6-of-8 on third-down attempts in the first half.

Meanwhile, head coach Kyle Shanahan continued to put his faith in quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, whose first win with San Francisco came at Chicago’s Soldier Field way back in 2017.

Garoppolo had his splash moments, including a 50-yard near-touchdown pass to wide receiver Deebo Samuel towards the end of the first half that resulted in a field goal. And Garoppolo nearly had himself an 83-yard screen-pass touchdown to Samuel in the third quarter, but the officials determined Samuel went out of bounds just before the goal line.

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At least Jimmy G rushed it in for a 1-yard touchdown to get within a point after kicker Joey Slye’s extra-point attempt was missed just under six minutes in the third quarter, Garoppolo’s first of two touchdowns on the ground.

Garoppolo finished the game going 17-of-28 for 322 yards, zero pass touchdowns against no interceptions, the rushing score and a passer rating of 100.6. Samuel, despite having two drops early in the game, still proved why he’s one of the league’s most dangerous receivers, hauling in six receptions for 171 yards to stay within the top five of NFL leaders.

Fields, meanwhile, gave the 49ers more fits.