49ers Pickett Blown Away In Windy City

By Krupka | Monday, November 14, 2005 | ( 0 )

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In a game filled with the unexpected, the one constant besides the wind was the Chicago Bears dominating defense. There were plenty of wacky occurrences in a game dominated by running plays. It was so blustery that if ex-Lions head coach Marty Mornhinweg was there he would say, "Take the wind."

On the last play of the first half, the San Francisco 49ers attempted a 52 yard field goal. The kick was short so Chicago Bears cornerback Nathan Vasher caught the fluttering ball 8 yards deep in his own end zone and proceeded to return it an NFL record 108 yards for a touchdown.

Evidence of the wind being a factor can be seen in the play calling. The 49ers ran the ball 46 times, while only throwing 13 passes. The 49ers didn't attempt a pass until the second quarter. At halftime Niners quarterback Cody Pickett was 0/2 passing; Pickett finished an atrocious 1/13 for 28 yards and an interception. Brandon Lloyd had the lone reception for the 49ers. Meanwhile, the Chicago Bears only attempted 14 passes while attempting 40 rushes. Bears quarterback Kyle Orton finished 8/13 for 67 yards and an interception.

The wind also played tricks on a first quarter 39 yard field goal attempt by Bears kicker Robbie Gould. Gould's attempt was completely blown away by the wind and was not even close to being good.

The San Francisco 49ers had chances. At one point they recovered a fumble on the Bears 2 yard line. However, the Bears defense drove the 49ers back to the 11 yard line holding the 49ers to a field goal. The Bears only allowed 161 total yards, 133 of which were rushing.

To add to the loss, the team lost strong safety Tony Parrish for the season with a broken left ankle and fibula. Parrish was injured in the first quarter when teammate Derek Smith rolled on him when the two tackled Bears running back Cedric Benson who later left the game injured. Parrish finishes the season with 43 tackles, 2 interceptions, and 1 touchdown.

Cody Pickett had a game to forget. It was the first time in franchise history that a 49ers quarterback had zero completions in the first half. Its hard to blame Pickett when he only attempted two passes in the half, but in order to win games the 49ers need to be able to throw the ball.

Another week came and left, another offensive performance to forget for the San Francisco 49ers.

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