Breaking down the plays: Bears vs 49ers

We will take a look at stills of some of the Bears game and break the play down a little bit.

1. The first touchdown of the game.
The 49ers are lined up with 2 wide right and a third man going in motion towards the right.  The Bears are running man coverage.  The free safety (Chris Conte) takes the man in motion.

 After the snap of the ball, the two receivers lined up wide run routes meant to run a legal pick freeing the motion man.  Conte is unable to move through the pick and the motion man is wide open.

 The 49ers have an easy touchdown and it leaves Conte looking bad.  Playing the package defense, there isn't much room to defend this play.  It leaves the Bears only option is to recognize the pick and make the switch.  Each defender move down leaving all three receivers covered.

 2. Mobile quarterback causing mayhem for the Bears defense.
With the front four, the Bears are able to collapse the pocket and bring pressure to Colin Kaepernick.  Two Bears defenders nearly get to the quarterback.

The Bears defense, as a whole, lacks a ton of speed.  Pinching in or otherwise not maintaining assignment discipline allows the quarterback to role out.  The lack of team speed accentuates the missed assignments and you wind up with a big 49er gain.

 3. Brandon Marshall touchdown.
In a stark contrast to the routes Trestman had Marshall and Jeffery running earlier in the game, the Bears coaching staff realized that with bum ankle and hamstring, respectively, quick cuts and sharp turns wouldn't beat the 49er corners.

 The Bears instead utilize the big bodies of their top two receivers. Here Marshall runs into the defender, makes the turn, and allows his body to shield the defender from the ball.  Result?  Touchdown Bears!

 4. Kyle Fuller interception.
Tim Jennings is a probowler.  Charles Tillman is arguably the greatest cornerback in Chicago Bears history.  However, Kyle Fuller brings attitude, confidence, and a speed the other two don't have.  As his man starts to run his route, you can see Fuller turning his hips from the backpedal ready to either run with the receiver or turning back and driving toward him.

 As the receiver runs his 8 yard route, Kyle Fuller challenges the catch.  He is so confident in his talent that he will either break up the pass, intercept, or make the tackle, he makes his break and takes the ball away for the INT.

 5. Brandon Marshall covered like a blanket.
Earlier in the game, the corners of the 49ers realized Marshall and Alshon were not going to challenge them deep due to nagging injuries.  Here you have Marshall running a curl route.  Typically this is effective when the corner is playing off and you can make a sharp turn.

 Due to his injured ankle, Marshall isn't being given the separation and when he makes a weak turn, the corner is right there on top of him and you end up with an incomplete pass.

 6. San Francisco touchdown run.
Based on the Bears defensive look, they should be prepared to stuff a run.  You have 7 in the box with the 8th looking to cheat down into the box.

 As the ball is snapped, the Bears still look to be in great shape to stop the run.  The DE has contain, Bostic is in position to plug the open hole.

Where the play goes bust is that Jared Allen overruns the play, losing his contain and position.  Then Bostic cheats to the middle of the field.  Since the 49ers formation was heavy to the top of the screen and the safety already cheated in, it left a gaping hole and nobody had the angle or position to stop the run.  Touchdown 49ers.