49ers sting Bears in OT

Associated Press

CHICAGO

The Chicago Bears had just taken a late lead when San Francisco 49ers coach Jim Tomsula delivered the message to Blaine Gabbert.

He told his quarterback to enjoy the moment. Gabbert owned it, instead.

Gabbert threw a 71-yard touchdown pass to Torrey Smith in overtime after running for the tying TD late in regulation, lifting the struggling 49ers to a 26-20 victory over the Bears on Sunday.

“You get opportunities like that,” Tomsula said. “You got to enjoy them. That’s why they play the game. All of these players in the NFL are amazing athletes. Amazing individuals. You get in a moment like that. Enjoy it. Savor it.”

Tomsula’s pep talk came right after Chicago’s Ka’Deem Carey ran for a touchdown in the closing minutes of regulation.

Gabbert answered with a big TD run and then won it with that long pass in OT after the Bears’ Robbie Gould missed a field goal at the end of regulation.

“You really saw kind of the peaks and valleys of NFL football right there,” Gabbert said.

The Bears (5-7) had just gone three-and-out after forcing a punt by San Francisco to start the extra period.

On the first play of the 49ers’ second possession, Gabbert found a wide-open Smith along the left sideline, giving San Francisco (4-8) a surprising win over a team that had jumped into playoff contention.

“It was set up by all the throws we had underneath early on in the game, all the runs we ran out of that formation,” Gabbert said. “It worked perfectly. Torrey did a great job tracking the ball in the air and using his speed to outrun everybody.”

All that happened after a wild finish in regulation.

The Bears took a 20-13 lead on Carey’s 4-yard run with 3:32 left, only to let it disappear and then blow a chance to win the game as time expired.

Gabbert scrambled 44 yards untouched through the middle for his first career touchdown run with 1:42 left, after some encouragement from Tomsula.

If that wasn’t bad enough for Chicago, the Bears wasted a huge opportunity after Deonte Thompson returned the kickoff 74 yards to the 28. The Bears had the ball at the 17 when they called on the usually reliable Gould, and at that point, linebacker NaVorro Bowman could sense the dread on the sideline.

“We had this feeling a few games (where) we played well and fell a little short,” he said. “That same kind of emotion and feeling came back. We’re right there. And I think today showed what we’ve been trying to get to all the players — just keep fighting no matter what’s happening in the game.”