49ers bury the Bears: Rapid reactions

The good version of the San Francisco 49ers returned on Sunday, soundly beating the Chicago Bears 38-13. The offense was dominant for almost the entire game. The defense was good in the first half and then regressed a little in the second half. But they still made enough plays to hold the Bears to two touchdowns.

Here are my rapid reactions as the game unfolded. These are my live observations, and they're a little more optimistic than the past three weeks. Winning helps.

• The return of Talanoa Hufanga sent Ji'Ayir Brown to the bench. I believe this is the best outcome.
• Isaac Guerendo is no Christian McCaffrey, but he can be a threat in the passing game if the 49ers get him the ball.

• A red zone touchdown. Am I dreaming?
• Guerendo takes some big hits. He needs to learn how to make himself less of a target like Frank Gore used to do.
• Jauan Jennings has a knack for making difficult catches look easy.
• I don't remember Brock Purdy having so many passes tipped as he has this season.
• De'Vondre Campbell in coverage is a scary thing—for the 49ers.
• How does Jacob Cowing get tripped up by a defender in the open field? He has to be able to beat that first man.
• George Kittle is having a great first quarter.

• Guerendo is having an excellent first quarter, too.

• Make that two red zone touchdowns.
• That's two sacks for the 49ers defense in the first quarter. And they're playing the run well, too.
• Deebo Samuel has not been effective in the run game this year.
• The Bears have no answer for Kittle. As it turns out, he's not bad when you get the ball to him.
• I'm old enough to remember when Samuel would break tackles. He rarely does anymore.
• Three red zone touchdowns for the 49ers and we're still in the first half. Who is this team?
• Is Jennings a true WR1? He's played like it for much of the season.

• By the way, Purdy has been almost perfect in the first half.
• Three first-half sacks for the 49ers defense. They look great so far. Is it a coincidence that Hufanga is back and Brown is on the bench?
• I'm becoming a bigger fan of Guerendo by the week. He is a weapon.
• Ricky Pearsall finally gets his name called, but it's because of a holding penalty. That penalty halted what should have been a fourth touchdown drive.
• Four first-half sacks by the defense. Two of them courtesy of Leonard Floyd. He's getting close to double-digits on the season.
• A new half and the 49ers defense suddenly looks like they have the past few weeks. And that's not a good thing.
• The Bears had the momentum until Caleb Williams decided to help out the 49ers and turn the ball over. We'll take it. Evan Anderson recovered the fumble. He's been a great pick-up this season.

• Why has Purdy been under-throwing receivers so much this season?
• Guerendo was great in his first NFL start.

• Brown is not good. And neither is Nick Sorensen's defense in the second half of games.
• Wow, a positive run by Samuel.
• Now Guerendo is hurt. The 49ers can't catch a break.
• That's five red-zone touchdowns for the 49ers today. This is the team we've been waiting to see.
• Yetur Gross-Matos has three sacks today. This is his best as a 49er.

• Let's hope Brandon Allen doesn't have to play any significant games for the 49ers again.

The 49ers broke their losing streak to improve to 6-7. Up next is the Los Angeles Rams on Thursday night. As inconsistent as the 49ers defense has been, San Francisco's offense may need to score 60 to win that game.

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