by John Crumpacker, Chronicle Staff Writer , The San Francisco Chronicle

The 49ers were at the Chicago 46-yard line, facing 4th-and-1. It was too far to attempt a field goal , and a punt at that point on the field in a home game could be seen as capitulation.

So coach Mike Singletary gave the nod to going for it. The line got no push whatsoever, and Alex Smith was unable to find a crease to squeeze out less than a yard. The play was stuffed and the Bears took over, eventually punching across a subsequent field goal.

"I will say this: That was not a very good decision," Singletary said. "That was a bad decision on my part. Now, to answer your question, I want my offensive line to know that if we have half a yard to go, I expect them to get it. After that play, I told them I believe in you. I don't see any reason in the world that I shouldn't expect us to make it."

Woof, woof: There was a little pregame jawing between tight end Vernon Davis and Bears defensive end Adewale Ogunleye, which is surprising because Ogunleye was the one Chicago defensive player whom Davis had something good to say about earlier in the week.

Bears center Olin Kreutz pulled Ogunleye away from Davis, and that was the end of it.

"Their defense was riled up because I called them out earlier in the week," Davis said. "That's what you want. You want the opposing team to come after you hard. There was some talk on the field. I still managed to take care of my assignments."

Not active: Wide receiver Isaac Bruce was declared inactive for the game, ostensibly with an ankle injury that he either sustained in the Tennessee game or in practice Tuesday.

It's the clearest indication yet that the 49ers are moving in a younger direction with Michael Crabtree, Josh Morgan and Jason Hill, players in their first, second and third years, respectively.

Crabtree had four receptions for 48 yards, Morgan three for 24 and Hill had one catch for five yards.

Bruce is in his 16th season. His contract with the 49ers expires after this season.

Other players inactive for the game were cornerback Keith Smith, cornerback Nate Clements, running back Glen Coffee, center Cody Wallace, tackle Joe Staley and defensive tackle Demetric Evans.

The Bears had one of their defensive starters inactive, strong safety Al Afalava.

Injury report: Five players showed up on the postgame list: linebacker Takeo Spikes hamstring, right tackle Adam Snyder shoulder sprain, safety Mark Roman knee contusion, wide receiver Arnaz Battle quad contusion and strong safety Michael Lewis stinger.

Additionally, right cornerback Shawntae Spencer said he sustained a mild concussion in the game.

Briefly: Former 49ers tackle Bubba Paris served as an honorary captain for the game. ... Thursday night's game marked the first time in more than 23 years that five different 49ers had interceptions. In a Sept. 7, 1986 game at Tampa Bay, the 49ers recorded seven interceptions against the Bucs and Steve DeBerg. ... Safety Roman's interception in the fourth quarter was his first since Dec. 14, 2006. ... Frank Gore notched his 17th 100-yard rushing game with 104 yards. Joe Perry has the franchise record for 100-yard games with 20.

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