After enduring several injuries and taking a skid to the bottom half of the NFC West over the past few weeks, the San Francisco 49ers turned the tide and came away with a pivotal win in their Week 8 matchup against the Chicago Bears. With big games from Jimmy Garoppolo, Deebo Samuel, Eli Mitchell, Josh Norman and Fred Warner, the Niners showed a well-balanced attack on both sides of the ball.
This allowed them to shut down a tough-minded Bears team that's looking to overtake the Minnesota Vikings and Green Bay Packers for NFC supremacy. As the 49ers aim to get back to their winning ways and return to postseason relevance, we'll now discuss two big takeaways from their crucial Week 8 win over the Bears.
San Francisco 49ers Week 8 Takeaways vs. Chicago Bears
2. 49ers' offense is unstoppable when they're able to consistently protect Jimmy G
With the right adjustments to their offensive line and a new and improved game plan in Week 8 against the Bears, Jimmy G and the 49ers' offense looked absolutely unstoppable on Sunday. Not to mention that Samuel, Mohamed Sanu and Brandon Aiyuk all gave San Fran a steady offensive attack that was able to overtake the Chicago defense and light up the stat sheet.
If the Niners can continue to give Jimmy G top-notch protection throughout the season, then they should be able to flourish and reassert themselves as one of the league's most potent offenses, especially if he's able to follow-up with a few more games having multiple rushing touchdowns.
LET’S GO 🗣 @JimmyG_10 pic.twitter.com/4P9suqQs8W
— San Francisco 49ers (@49ers) October 31, 2021
1. Star players make huge impact on San Francisco's defense
In Week 8 against the Bears, Norman and Warner anchored San Francisco's star-studded defense and showed Chicago why they've been one of the most dominant defensive teams for the past few seasons. As they look to get back to their dominant ways on defense and disrupt the flow of opposing offenses, the 49ers will need key contributions from their deep and talented defensive unit.
Under the leadership of DeMeco Ryans, the Niners have had to adjust to a changing of the guard, but given it's only been his first season, he'll definitely come into his own as their defensive coordinator and get this injury-riddled squad back on the winning track. There's no denying that the 49ers' D was hitting on all cylinders on Sunday and came up with a crucial win that essentially saved their season.
There's still plenty of football left to play, but San Fran was in dire need of a big win, which they were able to come away with on Sunday.
Huge 3rd down sack by @sosa50 😤
📺 #SFvsCHI on FOX pic.twitter.com/Ig8q8aJFy2
— San Francisco 49ers (@49ers) October 31, 2021
In conclusion, the 49ers showed shades of their potential as legit Super Bowl contenders, but given the wide array of youth, depth and athleticism across the league, the Niners may be in over their heads. Not to mention that they're currently in the bottom-tier of the NFC West, which is arguably the most competitive division in the NFL. If they do want a shot at making the playoffs and potentially making another Super Bowl run, then they'll need to bring their A-game every weekend and follow-up with more big wins as the season prolongs.