Bears’ corners grab footballs and attention
from our coaches asking us if we’re stripping today.”
The torrent of takeaways has been led by Tillman and Jennings, cornerbacks who have accounted for 57 percent of the Bears’ forced turnovers. Tillman has a league-best seven forced fumbles (only seven NFL teams had more fumble recoveries in the season’s first 11 weeks). Jennings has an NFL-high eight interceptions (only 14 teams had more).
The turnovers have led directly to points. The Bears established an NFL record with seven interception returns for touchdowns in their first eight games. Briggs and Tillman each had defensive touchdowns in back-to-back weeks this season, the first duo in NFL history to accomplish the feat.
Tillman, whose nickname is “Peanut,” is a top-flight cover corner, but he’s best known for his unparalleled ability to pop the ball loose from ball carriers. Tillman’s 36 forced fumbles since 2003 are 15 more than any defensive back over that span.
His skill has inspired “Peanut Punch” T-shirts in Chicago and a legion of inspired admirers.
After Northwestern had two forced fumbles among the four turnovers it collected in a 2320 win over Michigan State on Saturday, Wildcats head coach Pat Fitzgerald gave Tillman partial credit. During the week, Fitzgerald had shown his team video of Tillman forcing four fumbles in a win over the Titans this season.
“I believe everybody in the country on defense has kind of been invigorated by Peanut Tillman,” Fitzgerald said.
Said Roman: “When it comes to stripping the ball and punching it out, he’s just so far ahead of everybody, it’s not even funny.”
And Jim Harbaugh: “He’s probably the best that anybody has ever seen.”
Tillman’s unique ability has created both loose balls and laughs.
In a conference call this past week, Briggs offered the Bay Area media his Peanut-inspired comedy bit, which had Tillman howling in the background: “Tillman is the NFL’s greatest stripper I believe. He’s been doing it for a long time. He didn’t start this thing overnight, you know. He’s been making his money off stripping since he was in college.”
Monday night’s game has been billed as a matchup between elite defenses: The 49ers lead the NFL with 14.1 points allowed per game and the Bears (14.8) rank second.
It’s the head-to-head matchup between a defense known for takeaways and an offense adept at ball security that figures to be most intriguing.
Last season, the 49ers tied an NFL record by committing only 10 turnovers. This season, they had nine giveaways entering Week 11, tied for the sixthfewest in the league. Quarterback Alex Smith has thrown an NFL-low 11 interceptions in his past 806 attempts since 2010. Running back Frank Gore has one fumble in his past 323 carries.
The 49ers haven’t committed a turnover in 11 of their 25 regular-season games under Harbaugh. Pulling off another error-free game Monday will be a challenge against a defense headlined by Jennings and Tillman, corners whose opposing peers are eager to see them up close.
“Tillman is able to punch the ball out and also able to tackle the ball carriers,” 49ers cornerback Carlos Rogers said. “It’s something unbelievable. So I’ll be up on my seat watching those guys play because I like defense.”
BIG THREE