In a battle of backup quarterbacks, Colin Kaepernick thoroughly out-dueled Jason Campbell as the San Francisco 49ers smoked the Chicago Bears, 32-7, on Monday night.
Bears vs. 49ers final score: San Francisco dominates Chicago, 32-7
The San Francisco 49ers got dominant performances from both sides of the ball in a win over the Chicago Bears on Monday night. Colin Kaepernick, starting in place of an injured Alex Smith, was excellent in his first NFL start.
Kaepernick, making his first NFL start in place of the concussed Alex Smith, looked like a veteran throughout the game against the normally stout Bears defense. The second-year quarterback completed 16 of 23 passes for 243 yards and two touchdowns
Meanwhile, Campbell struggled under heavy pressure all night long in place of Jay Cutler, who also suffered a concussion last weekend. Campbell threw two interceptions, was sacked five times and hit countless others. He finished 14 of 22 for 107 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions.
San Francisco jumped all over Chicago from the start, going up 10-0 not even 10 minutes into the game. And on the Niners' first touchdown, halfback Frank Gore did this to Bears linebacker Lance Briggs:
Once Kendall Hunter made it 17-0 early in the second quarter, the rout was on. The Bears did not get on the board until the third quarter on a 13-yard Brandon Marshall touchdown reception.
San Francisco is now 7-2-1 after the dominant win, while Chicago falls to 7-3.
Winners: Kaepernick is an obvious winner for his impressive performance in place of Smith, but defensive end Aldon Smith may have been the most dominant player on the field. Smith had a field day against a porous Bears offensive line and racked up 5.5 sacks. Needless to say, Smith was quite happy with his performance:
Losers: The Bears and anybody with a rooting interest in the team. This was a disastrous performance on both sides of the ball from the get-go, and now Chicago is tied with the Green Bay Packers in the NFC North. Offensive tackles J'Marcus Webb and Gabe Carimi had especially rough games, as did Campbell, for taking countless hits like this:
Stat of the game: The Bears had -1 passing yards in the first half.
Fantasy studs and duds: Along with Kaepernick, Vernon Davis had a huge game with six catches for 83 yards and one touchdown. Marshall had only 21 yards receiving, but he did get in the end zone. Matt Forte had a quiet game, racking up only 67 total yards of offense.
But did they cover?: The Niners were a 3½-point favorite and easily covered.
Injury info: Bears wide receiver Alshon Jeffery suffered a knee injury and did not return. Jeffery was just coming back off a hand injury. Offensive guard Lance Louis left the game with an injured leg.
What's next?: The Niners travel to New Orleans to take on the Saints in Week 12. The Bears host the Minnesota Vikings.
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