Barber: Vic Fangio gets the better of Kyle Shanahan — again

SANTA CLARA

Kyle Shanahan met his match on Sunday. Again.

“It’s well-documented what I think about Kyle,” 49ers left tackle Joe Staley said after the Chicago Bears had beaten his team 14-9 at Levi’s Stadium. “He’s the best play caller I’ve ever been around.”

A lot of 49ers feel that way about Shanahan. A lot of people in Atlanta felt that way, too, when he was the offensive coordinator there. Some national NFL correspondents might agree. Shanahan has a reputation for Xs and Os. But Vic Fangio has an eraser for his chalkboard.

You remember Fangio. He was the defensive coordinator here under Jim Harbaugh from 2011 to 2014, when the 49ers’ had some of the best defenses in team history. Fangio has a different set of players now, and he deploys them in a subtly different way. But the front seven of the 2018 Bears is as formidable as the front seven of the 2013 49ers, and once again that is bad news for Shanahan.

The two coaches have now faced off four times as play callers, and Shanahan’s teams have yet to score a meaningful touchdown against Fangio. Think about that: 16 quarters, and not a meaningful trip to the end zone. The only touchdown a Shanahan-run unit has scored against a Fangio-run unit came in November of 2011, when Washington’s John Beck threw a 9-yard scoring pass to Jabar Gaffney. It came with 1:10 left in the game and Washington trailing the 49ers 19-3. It was garbage time.

That was the first time these intergenerational coaches squared off, and Fangio’s Niners prevailed 19-10 in DC. Shanahan’s team turned over the ball three times in that one. Two years later, there was a rematch, also in Washington. This time, the 49ers crushed the home team 27-6, sacking the Washington quarterbacks six times and limiting them to 118 passing yards.

They didn’t go toe to toe again until last December, when Shanahan’s 49ers outlasted Fangio’s Bears 15-14 at Soldier Field. That was a breakthrough win for Shanahan, and for quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo. But they did it on five field goals by Robbie Gould; Shanahan still didn’t get a TD versus Fangio. And then there was Sunday’s result. The 49ers had just 15 first downs and 279 yards against the Bears.

In four games, the Shanahans have averaged 10.25 points, 16.25 first downs and 290 total yards against the Fangios. Not exactly state-of-the-art offense.

Yes, you’re right, Fangio had great players in San Francisco - Patrick Willis, NaVorro Bowman, Aldon Smith, Justin Smith. And he has great players now in Chicago - Khalil Mack, Akiem Hicks, Leonard Floyd.

But guess what? Fangio helped make those players great, or make them greater. And if you don’t believe me, consider Khalil Mack. He was a brilliant player, a two-time all-pro during four seasons with the Raiders. But he is effecting far more impact with the Bears. Because he has better defensive teammates now, and he has Fangio, one of the most respected tacticians in football.

Fangio’s impact on Sunday’s game began during the week, when he forced the 49ers offensive staff and players to cram information.

“You only have a certain amount of time in a week to practice, and we have a lot of things that we like to put into our game plans,” 49ers right tackle Mike McGlinchey said. “When you have a lot of looks that you don’t normally see from defenses - that they do, and they do it consistently - it makes thing a little bit harder.”

So Fangio, the defensive coach, had the offense on the defensive. When the game started, he was as creative as expected.

“I mean, he changes up a lot of different things,” said 49ers left tackle Joe Staley. “And he’s always giving varied fronts. He doesn’t blitz a ton and he’s not really exotic, but it’s the timing of it. I mean, he always keeps you on your toes, and you’re kind of having to react. It’s a big chess game with him.”

Staley talked about the Bears’ ability to set the edges, and to stuff run gaps. “That’s what we had here,” he said. “We were really able to play the box, and play the defense. It’s really a structurally sound defense.”

That’s where a Vic Fangio defense is greater than the sum of its parts. Guys like NaVorro Bowman and Khalil Mack are always going to make spectacular plays. But Fangio’s teams tend to avoid mistakes, too. This Bears defense, like the 49ers defense before it, is remarkably error-free.

“The way they were switching up personnel and things like that was another challenge,” 49ers quarterback Nick Mullens said. “The game within the game, the guys they have on the field, what plays are good against those personnels - they were playing like a blanket out there, I guess you could say. We knew we weren’t going to get too many home-run balls. … They were keeping everything in front. You have to be very disciplined as an offense when you play a defense like that.”

In other words, the Bears are aggressive and patient at the same time.

You saw the result Sunday. The 49ers had been gashing opponents with big plays recently - like George Kittle’s 85-yard touchdown catch against the Broncos, or fellow tight end Garrett Celek’s 41-yard scoring catch against Seattle. Those are game-changing plays. But the Niners didn’t really have any of those against the Bears. That’s pretty typical for an offense going up against Vic Fangio.

Kittle had a solid day against Chicago, with seven catches for 74 yards. But with halfback Matt Breida and wide receiver Dante Pettis getting hurt early in the second quarter, the 49ers needed even more from Kittle. Mullens targeted him 12 times. Fangio’s Bears weren’t going to let him run wild.

“They did a really good job of using two edge guys to try to jam me every single route,” Kittle said. “If I wasn’t standing up, or if I was, they still tried to get hands on, which definitely messed with the timing of the play. … They just did a really good job of not letting me get off the ball clean.”

The 49ers played well Sunday, but that’s mostly a credit to their improving defense. Shanahan’s offense never got much going against Fangio’s unit. Then again, you wouldn’t really expect Mullens and Jeff Wilson Jr. to assert their dominance over defenders like Danny Trevathan and Roquan Smith. The Bears have too much talent.

Maybe one day the 49ers will narrow that gap. Maybe Shanahan’s offensive players will be the equal of Fangio’s defensive players. Maybe Shanahan will get the better of his nemesis.

Until then, we’ll be wondering if he can ever score a meaningful touchdown against Vic Fangio.

You can reach columnist Phil Barber at 707-521-5263 or phil.barber@pressdemocrat.com. Follow him on Twitter: @Skinny_Post.