by John Crumpacker , The San Francisco Chronicle

RATING: SNOOZING VIEWERThe 49ers did not send out an NFL-worthy offense on Thursday night. Any offense that gets five turnovers from its defense and scores only 10 points should be ashamed of itself. On the very minimal plus side, the 49ers had the ball for 31:33, converted six of 14 third-down opportunities and held onto the ball for 6:14 late in the game when eating time was important. Frank Gore got most of his 104 yards rushing out of the shotgun formation. The 49ers get an extra day of practice next week; the offense needs all the work it can get.

RATING: WILD APPLAUSEBravo to defensive coordinator Greg Manusky, defensive line coach Jim Tomsula and secondary coach Johnnie Lynn for crafting a game plan that had their players in position to make plays. If not for the five interceptions, this would have been the fifth loss in a row for the 49ers , and four of those interceptions came because the secondary was able to anticipate where Jay Cutler was going to throw the ball. Even nose tackle Aubrayo Franklin knew where Cutler was going to go when he made the team's first pick. Chicago's Matt Forte was held to 41 yards rushing.

SPECIAL TEAMS RATING: SNOOZING VIEWERFor the first time in his tenure as head coach, Mike Singletary called out kicker Joe Nedney and punter Andy Lee for their disappointing moments in the game. Nedney missed a 39-yard field goal try while Lee totally gaffed on a pooch punt attempt from his 34-yard line. Even the normally flawless Brian Jennings sailed a low center snap to holder Lee on Nedney's miss. On the plus side, San Francisco's kick and punt cover units performed exceptionally well, especially in limiting Devin Hester to 4 yards on two punt returns.

COACHING RATING: WILD APPLAUSESee defense, above. Manusky and his fellow defensive coaches are rising to the occasion of their demanding, defensive-oriented boss, Singletary. On offense, coordinator Jimmy Raye shows the flexibility to go to a spread formation with Alex Smith in shotgun to take advantage of his quarterback's skills. The set also opened things up for Frank Gore, who had his second 100-yard rushing game of the season. The aggressive Singletary challenged a no-catch call by Michael Crabtree on the 49ers' first offensive play of the game and later went for it on 4th-and-1. He failed both times but players have to respect him for having faith in them.

OVERALL RATING: ALERT VIEWERThis is a 4-5 team that can go either way with seven games left. Defense has been a constant most of the season but the offense has to hold up its part of the bargain by scoring more. For the 49ers to win the division, they will likely have to win the next three games Green Bay, Jacksonville, Seattle to set up a Dec. 14 Monday night encounter with Arizona. Smith needs to work overtime with Crabtree to develop the kind of chemistry that exists between a quarterback and his No. 1 receiver.

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