Yetur Gross-Matos was on fire in 49ers' Week 14 win over Bears

The 49ers needed someone to step up in Week 14 with Nick Bosa out, and that's precisely what Yetur Gross-Matos did in the win over the Bears.

The San Francisco 49ers bucked a concerning trend by defeating the Chicago Bears 38-13 in Week 14.

Head coach Kyle Shanahan's squad entered the game with a 0-5 record in contests where both left tackle Trent Williams and defensive end Nick Bosa were absent.

After knocking off Chicago on Sunday, that record is 1-5.

Bosa, in particular, missed his third straight game with hip and oblique injuries, putting more pressure on a defense that has struggled in his absence.

Thankfully, reserve defensive end Yetur Gross-Matos answered the call.

Yetur Gross-Matos delivers career-best performance in win over Bears

After a notable two-game slump, Shanahan's offense came to life and received the bulk of credit for the Niners' one-sided victory.

However, San Francisco's defense held interim head coach Thomas Brown's offense in check for nearly all four quarters, holding Chicago to a mere 162 net yards and an average of just 3.1 yards per play.

A lot of the credit should go to Gross-Matos, the under-appreciated offseason free-agent pickup from the Carolina Panthers whom the 49ers hope to develop into a quality pass-rusher.

Gross-Matos took down Bears quarterback Caleb Williams three times in the contest, setting a personal best for sacks in a single game, including this play in the fourth quarter where the edge rusher's brute strength and determination were on full display:

The Niners sacked Williams six times in the game, increasing his already NFL-high mark to 56. So, the chances were going to be there for San Francisco's defense.

But it still fell on players like Gross-Matos to take full advantage. And he did.

Gross-Matos, who missed the first half of the season because of a knee injury suffered during the preseason, brought his season tally of sacks to four, which is now just half a sack away from tying a career-high, set back with the Panthers in 2023.

With four games remaining, and Bosa potentially staying out of the lineup for a little while longer, the 2020 second-round NFL Draft pick out of Penn State will have an excellent chance to set a new career-best number.

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