49ers George Kittle’s Squeaky Wheel play leads Niners over Bears 38-13

For one week, the 49ers resembled last season’s team. The offense converted in the red zone, the defense created a pass rush, Brock Purdy was sharp and the offense scored 38 points. Despite missing Brandon Aiyuk, Christian McCaffrey, Trent Williams and Nick Bosa for a brief brilliant week, the 49ers played 49ers football.

Yes, the opponent was dysfunctional. The Bears’ offense was abysmal for much of Sunday’s game. At halftime the offense gained two yards. Chicago’s deficit was 24 points and the game never felt close.

Let’s hand out a few gold jackets from Sunday’s stunning win over Chicago.

Attack: George Kittle

In the most obvious squeaky wheel game after Kittle’s comments about his lack of targets in Buffalo, the all-world tight end went for six receptions, 151 yards and 25.2 yards per reception against the Bears. The 49ers’ offense totaled 452 yards and 38 points, but Kittle was the team’s brightest star on Sunday.

The fourth play from scrimmage went 33 yards to Kittle, setting up Jauan Jennings’ seven-yard touchdown to open the scoring. The 49ers’ third drive began with another long play to Kittle for 32 yards. The offense hit block after block and it felt like Kittle was running through the Bears’ defenders.

Kittle’s season numbers are 56 receptions, 800 yards, 14.3 yards per reception and eight touchdowns. His pace in 2024 is 73 receptions, 1,046 yards, 14.3 yards per reception and ten touchdowns.

Honorable Mention: Jauan Jennings, Brock Purdy, Isaac Guerendo

The 49ers’ leading receiver continued his breakout campaign with seven catches, 90 yards and two touchdowns. Jennings was undoubtedly the 49ers’ best receiver in 2024. Purdy had his best game of the season, completing 20 of 25 passes for 325 yards and two touchdowns. A Ricky Pearsall penalty set up a potential touchdown for Purdy. Rookie Isaac Guerendo took over the lead back role and delivered 78 rushing yards on 15 carries and two touchdowns. The former receiver also threw two balls for 50 yards.

Defense: Yetur Gross-Matos

Four tackles, three sacks, three tackles for loss and three QB hits is a worthy performance for a Gold Jacket. Gross-Matos had his best moment as a 49er, and the defensive line created pressure and harassed Caleb Williams throughout the game. Sunday’s performance tripled Gross-Matos’ total sacks this season and is a welcome sight with the team’s biggest games coming up.

Honorable Mention: Leonard Floyd and Maliek Collins

The 49ers had six total sacks, and all six came from Gross-Matos (three), Leonard Floyd (two) and Maliek Collins (one). The trio was responsible for all seven QB hits. Evan Anderson fell due to an unforced error by Williams that caused the defense’s only turnover of the day, but the team was in top form, allowing just 162 total yards on 10 drives. Regardless of the opponent, allowing just 3.1 yards per play is impressive.