Cutler carves up 49ers late
Turnovers, penalties plague San Francisco
Associated Press
SANTA CLARA, Calif.
Jay Cutler passed for three fourth-quarter touchdowns after much of Chicago’s starting defense went down, and the Bears beat the San Francisco 49ers 28-20 Sunday night to spoil their Levi’s Stadium debut.
Cutler threw three TD passes to Brandon Marshall, two in the wild fourth quarter, as Chicago erased a 13-point deficit and quieted the sellout crowd. Cutler threw for two scores in a 27-second span early in the final period, aided by the gutsy play of a backup cornerback.
Kyle Fuller made two late interceptions for the depleted Chicago secondary, and the first set up the go-ahead score.
San Francisco’s Colin Kaepernick was hit with an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for “inappropriate language” following Fuller’s first big play. That gave the Bears first-and-goal on the 3, and Cutler threw a 3-yard TD pass to Martellus Bennett as the Bears went ahead 21-20.
Kaepernick threw three interceptions in all, lost a fumble and his cool, a far cry from his breakout start on the Monday night stage two years ago in a rout of the Bears. Cutler sat out that night with a concussion.
A sloppy game filled with 26 penalties — 16 by the Niners — and a crazy collapse overshadowed the fanfare of the regular-season debut for the sparkling $1.2 billion stadium under the lights.
The Bears (1-1), in a stretch with six of eight games on the road, go home with momentum despite injuries on both sides of the ball.
Five key defenders are hurt: cornerbacks Sherrick McManis (quadriceps) and Charles Tillman (triceps), defensive end Trevor Scott (foot), safety Chris Conte (shoulder) and defensive tackle Jeremiah Ratliff (concussion).
The 49ers (1-1) missed an opportunity to grab an early lead in the NFC West after the defending Super Bowl champion and rival Seattle Seahawks lost earlier in the day at San Diego.