49ers vs. Bears: Biggest studs, duds from Week 8 win
By Romelo Bracy
The 49ers ended a four-game skid with a much-needed victory over the Chicago Bears Sunday, in large part due to some great offensive performances.
The San Francisco 49ers captured their first victory since beating the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 2, putting up a season-high 33 points in the Week 8 victory over the Chicago Bears. The offense looked as explosive as it has all season and the defense made stops when the team needed them most.
San Francisco played with a different type of fire Sunday afternoon, and no one displayed that competitiveness better than quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo. He ran in two touchdowns on Sunday, and in both of them, he attempted to run through multiple Chicago defenders.
The win was impressive no doubt, and in a week where the offense can produce more than 30 points, there were plenty of stand-out performances.
On the other hand, there were still players who had their struggles in Week 8, so let’s take a look at last Sunday’s studs and duds.
49ers Stud: Quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo
A homecoming is just what Jimmy G needed, as he had one of his best performances of the season at Soldier Field on Sunday.
Garoppolo threw for 322 yards on just 22 attempts, averaging an absurd 19 yards per completion. Garoppolo added two rushing scores and looked like a quarterback who was playing for his job, attempting to run through defenders on the goal line as mentioned above. He also did an excellent job of protecting the football, having zero turnovers, and taking zero sacks.
Pro Football Focus graded him as the fourth-best quarterback in Week 8 with a grade of 80.2. This type of performance is exactly what the 49ers needed after losing four straight games.
Garoppolo lead an offense that didn’t punt the entire game and averaged 8.6 yards per play. In addition, Garoppolo did a much better job of getting the ball down the field as well, leading to much more explosive passing plays.
Jimmy G will look to continue to improve when the 49ers face off against the Arizona Cardinals this Sunday.