Washington breaks down 49ers offensive attack |
CHICAGO—The Chicago Bears will take a break from division play for the next two weeks, starting with their matchup Sunday against the San Francisco 49ers (3:25 p.m. / FOX).
Despite the plethora of injuries on both sides of the ball, San Francisco is still incredibly dangerous with weapons like tight end George Kittle. “Really intent on running the football. When they are at their best, they’re averaging 30 rushing attempts per game. They complement that with the play action boot. They utilize screens to slow down your rush and obviously, Kittle is a primary target,” defensive coordinator Eric Washington said. “He can be a matchup issue depending on what you’re doing. So, we have to (do) a really good job of making sure that (we’re) aware of where he is at all times and we execute and we stop him from gaining (explosive) plays.” Kittle has been the top end zone threat, with eight receiving touchdowns this year. He is second on the team in receiving yards, while dynamic playmaker Deebo Samuel is third. While Samuel is having a relatively down year, Washington still identified him as a top person to contain this Sunday. “Deebo Samuel, very versatile player. He can align in multiple positions. He can play tailback, he can a slot receiver. He can be a wide receiver. He’s the key to everything that they desire to do,” Washington said. “Very versatile player, strong, a possession guy. Can also get behind you, a runner once he possesses the football. So, we have to be aware of that and make sure that we understand how they’re utilizing him and that we do a good job of managing his personnel packages.” It is a rather unfamiliar sight for Chicago Bears fans to see their defense struggling more than their offense. They have given up explosive plays and been one of the worst rushing defenses in the league. San Francisco will be without its top two running backs, Christian McCaffrey and Jordan Mason, who are both on injured reserve (IR). However, Isaac Guerendo has stepped in a few times before and is also a strong back himself. “At the end of the day, it’s about what we need to do as a defense and we’re looking forward to putting forth our best effort, staying with making sure that we attack and control the line of scrimmage and that we do everything we can to keep this quarterback in the pocket. He’s done a really, really good job of scrambling. Just another person that you have to contend with in that regard. When we get him in a situation where it’s third and seven, eight plus, we cannot allow him to gain a fresh set of downs by running all over the football field. So, be a great challenge for us. We’ll put forth our best effort and we’ll do everything we can to gain a victory,” Washington said. “The guys are eager to go out and play and from what I’ve been able to glean, they’re in a good spot and I don’t mean to speak for them. I’m just talking about what I’ve observed. Our last two practices, especially the one that we just had, it was excellent. There was a lot of energy. There was a lot of smiling … I believe the guys are eager to go out and to prove that they can be a dominant defense from cover to cover.”
