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Unbeaten Bears seek 7-0 start, face 49ers

Oct 24, 2006 - 9:34 PM San Francisco (2-4) at Chicago (6-0) Sunday 1:00 pm EST

CHICAGO (Ticker) -- Cody Pickett had the unfortunate task of facing the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field last season. This season, Alex Smith gets his crack.

Smith looks to give the San Francisco 49ers a fighting chance against the Bears on Sunday when the teams meet in what looks to be a mismatch on paper.

Last November 13, the Bears posted a 17-9 victory over the 49ers. The contest was played in swirling winds that reached 47 miles per hour.

The impossible conditions wreaked havoc as the teams combined for six turnovers and three missed field goals.

Along with the conditions came a historical play when Bears cornerback Nathan Vasher returned a missed field goal an NFL-record 108 yards for a touchdown.

On the final play of the first half, Joe Nedney attempted a 51-yard field goal that was pushed wide right and to the back of the end zone where Vasher caught the ball. Vasher brought the ball down the left sideline, then cut back to the right where he picked up a horde of blockers on his way to the end zone, giving the Bears a 7-3 lead.

Adrian Peterson picked up the slack in the running game for the Bears as he rushed for a career-high 120 yards and a touchdown. Thomas Jones missed the game with a rib injury and Cedric Benson went down early in the contest with a sprained knee.

The 49ers had the bigger problems on offense as Pickett completed just 1-of-13 passes for 28 yards and an interception. San Francisco did rush for 133 yards, but managed just nine first downs.

Smith, the first pick in the 2005 draft, now is firmly entrenched as the San Francisco starter. He is ranked a respectable 13th in the league with an 86.4 quarterback rating.

But Smith will be facing a Chicago defense that has been ferocious at home, allowing a total of 20 points in three games. Chicago is surrendering just 9.8 points per game to rank second in the league behind Denver (7.3).

The Bears have not been 7-0 since winning their first 12 games during their Super Bowl-winning season in 1985. Chicago and Indianapolis (6-0) are the only remaining unbeaten teams.

Two weeks ago, it looked like the Bears would endure their first loss before staging an improbable rally in a 24-23 victory at Arizona.

Trailing 23-3, the Bears rallied behind their defense and special teams. Pro Bowl safety Mike Brown, who is out for the rest of the season with a foot injury, started the comeback by returning a fumble three yards for a touchdown with two seconds left in the third quarter.

Cornerback Charles Tillman brought back a fumble 40 yards for a touchdown with five minutes left in the fourth quarter and rookie Devin Hester capped the comeback by bringing back a punt 83 yards for a score with 2:58 remaining.

The Bears were able to win despite Rex Grossman throwing four interceptions and losing a pair of fumbles. He had just three interceptions in the first five games.

Grossman and the Bears will look to get back on track against a Niners defense which has allowed a league-high 194 points.

Coming off their bye, the Niners were lit up two weeks ago in a 48-19 home loss to San Diego. The Niners surrendered 30 first downs and 421 total yards.