49ers grades, analysis from refreshing Week 8 win vs. Bears
By Peter Panacy
42. 22. 57. Final. 33
The 49ers ended their four-game losing streak by beating the Bears 33-22 in Week 8, and at least the offensive grades reflect positively.
It almost feels strange to take a hindsight look at the San Francisco 49ers following a win, but that’s precisely what happened after the Niners pulled off their first win since beating the Philadelphia Eagles way back when in Week 2.
This time, head coach Kyle Shanahan’s squad was on the right side of the win column by pulling off a 33-22 road victory over the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field in Week 8.
True, the game was far from perfect. San Francisco’s defense had all kinds of trouble with Bears rookie quarterback Justin Fields during the game, and some of the same woes that have existed on that side of the ball all year long didn’t exactly go away in Week 8 either.
Fortunately, Shanahan’s offense finally picked up the slack after starting slow, leading to quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo having his best game of the season en route to a much-needed 49ers victory to improve to 3-4.
Yet Garoppolo’s opening drive ultimately stalled, thanks to a player who likely won’t be with the Niners this time next week.
Let’s grade that player’s unit, then break down each other position group’s efforts from the victory.
49ers Week 8 Grades: Special Teams
The inconsistency issues of fill-in kicker Joey Slye were on full display in Week 8, as he missed what would have been an opening-score field goal from 48 yards out on San Francisco’s first possession.
Later in the game, Slye also missed an extra point, which prompted the 49ers to attempt a two-point conversion on their next possession that found the end zone.
Thankfully that worked.
Slye, filling in for injured veteran kicker Robbie Gould, went 2-of-4 on his kicks, and it’s likely Slye won’t be on the Niners roster a week from now when Gould is expected to come back from his calf injury.
Interestingly enough, punter Mitch Wishnowsky actually didn’t have to punt at all during the game, which was an anomaly that actually worked in San Francisco’s favor.