The defense turned into one of the league’s best with coordinator Vic Fangio pulling the strings. The addition of a premier pass rusher off the edge looked like a finishing touch that helped solidify the team as a real Super Bowl contender.
Those are true for both the 2011 49ers and the current Chicago Bears, who come to Levi’s Stadium on Sunday after clinching the NFC North title with a victory over the Green Bay Packers last week.
The Bears are playing a similar brand of football to Jim Harbaugh’s San Francisco clubs anchored by Fangio’s imposing defenses, and they hope it can be enough to supplant some of the high-flying offenses in the NFC, similar to the 49ers’ run to the Super Bowl a year later in 2012.