'Unorthodox' 49ers offense will be a giant challenge for Bears
The 49ers’ offense had gone so off the rails last year that general manager John Lynch had to shoot down any notion that he’d trade his own head coach.
Two days before they hosted the Bears for Thomas Brown’s first game as interim head coach, Lynch went on San Francisco radio and said he found it “comical” that fans were talking about Kyle Shanahan being dealt — perhaps to the Bears.
Then, for 60 minutes, the 49ers looked like themselves again. In the first half alone, the 49ers hung a ridiculous 319 yards against the Bears on 37 plays. They led 24-0 at halftime and won 38-13. It was the only game they’d win the last seven weeks of the season.
The past month-and-a-half, every 49ers game has looked like the Bears beatdown. Monday night in Indianapolis, Brock Purdy became the first 49ers quarterback since Joe Montana in 1990 to throw for five or more touchdowns. The 49ers scored 48 points against the Colts, their most in six years. Their 440 yards were the most they’ve posted this season.
Purdy, who was named NFC Offensive Player of the Week on Wednesday, has thrown eight touchdowns the past two weeks. The 49ers haven’t punted during that stretch — a scary proposition for a Bears defense that didn’t force a Packers punt Saturday
The 49ers haven’t lost since Nov. 9. During their five-game win streak, they’ve averaged 34.4 points per game. They’ve scored the fourth-most points in the NFL and allowed the second-fewest during that span.
“This is gonna be a huge challenge for us …” safety Kevin Byard said. “The more you win games, the bigger the next game is.”
What makes the 49ers so unusual, though, is where they get their production. Their leading receiver is running back Christian McCaffrey, who has 92 catches — 20 more than the next-closest NFL running back — for 849 yards. Their second-best pass catcher is tight end George Kittle, who has caught 52 passes for 499 yards. Their next three are wide receivers — and they have fewer yards this year than either the Bears’ Rome Odunze or DJ Moore.
“It's just kinda unorthodox, a little bit, that you've got the tight end and the running back as the guys that concern you the most,” Bears coach Ben Johnson said.
Combine McCaffrey and Kittle with fullback Kyle Juszczyk and it’s clear the 49ers want to dominate the middle of the field.
“If you have an outstanding [wide] receiver, there's kind of some things that you can really do to try to take those guys away,” Bears defensive coordinator Dennis Allen said. “It becomes more challenging inside at the tight end, running back position.”
Without a go-to wideout, Purdy has to distribute the ball. That’s what makes him so hard to plan for, Allen said.
“I don't think they do anything where they say, ‘We're going to throw it to this guy on this particular play,’” Allen said. “He does a great job of getting through his progressions, and he throws it to the open guy. And they've got a lot of guys.”
Shanahan was the first offensive coordinator to marry run and pass concepts so well, said Johnson, whose goal is to do the same. He watches 49ers tape every week to see what Shanahan is up to.
From 2017-23, the 49ers were the fifth-best rushing team in the NFL. Their run game was the basis of Shanahan’s offense. The last two years, though, they rank 15th. The 49ers still use motion before every snap, trying to force defenders to communicate with each other or risk being out of position. The end goal, though, has been to throw the ball.
“They might be a more dangerous passing team right now,” Johnson said.
And maybe the most dangerous team, period.