The San Francisco 49ers' losing streak is at 11 games, thanks to a 26-6 loss against the Chicago Bears. The weather in Chicago was just awful: it was a snowy and cold Midwestern day. But the only thing worse than the weather was the 49ers' offense: They had (factoring sacks), just 6 passing yards. Remove the 33 yards in sacks and they're at 39. It was a terrible effort, but there are some takeaways.
Here are 3 things we learned from the 49ers' loss to the Bears Sunday.
3. The 49ers Might Not Win Another Game
This was the 49ers' best chance for another win this season. The Bears were just 2-9 entering the game and riddled with injuries. Matt Barkley, the third string QB, was starting and the top WR in Sunday's game is someone named Josh Bellamy. So, yeah, not a good team. And the 49ers still lost by several scores. Riding an 11-game win streak, the 49ers play the Jets, Falcons, Rams and Seahawks. The Jets and Rams are winnable games, especially with New York visiting. But both are just better teams right now, and the 49ers have a legit chance of finishing the year with 15 straight wins. This is what happens when you field a team lacking talent.
2. 49ers' run defense is historically bad
The 49ers' run defense looked better in recent weeks, but it regressed back to it's terrible levels against the Bears. With terrible weather, both teams knew there would be a ton of running. And yet, the 49ers couldn't stop the Bears and Jordan Howard. The Bears as a team had 142 yards and 3 TDs on the ground, with Howard responsible for 117 and all three TDs. The 49ers simply couldn't stop the Bears ground game, despite Chicago running it over twice as many times as it threw it. This is an injured Bears offensive line, and the Niners still had no success.
1. Scout Those QBs!
We KNOW that Blaine Gabbert isn't the answer for the 49ers at QB. With Colin Kaepernick getting benched in favor of Gabbert Sunday, it's clear the Niners don't have a franchise option at the position. Kaepernick was terrible Sunday completing just 1 of 5 passes for 4 yards and adding only 20 yards on the ground while getting sacked 5 times for 25 yards. The 49ers will have a high pick in this year's draft (and that's the bright side of losing to the Bears) and there will be QBs on the board. But it's a poor draft class, with Deshone Kizer, Deshaun Watson and Mitch Trubisky at the top. All three are far from sure things and might not even be worth the 49ers' high first rounder. But the 49ers need to scout this class heavily, because if there's a franchise QB to be had, they need to snag him. If not, at least starting scouting free agents. It's time for a new QB in San Francisco.