NFL game summary for 09/10/1978:
Doug Buffone intercepted his second pass of the game late in the fourth period and lateraled the ball to Virgil Livers, who carried it 17 yards to the 49ers' 35. Nine plays later, Roland Harper scored the winning touchdown on a one-yard run with 3:27 remaining. O. J. Simpson was a workhorse for the 49ers, rushing for 108 yards on 27 carries and catching five passes for 56 yards. He scored San Francisco's only touchdown in the first period on an eight-yard pass from Steve DeBerg.
Team stats coming into this game (NFL ranks in parentheses):
| Team | Rush Yds/Gm | Pass Yds/Gm | Tot Yds/Gm | Turnovers | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | OFFENSE | 194.0 (4) | 49.0 (24) | 243.0 (17) | 0 |
| DEFENSE | 99.0 (4) | 137.0 (14) | 236.0 (10) | 2 | |
 | OFFENSE | 131.0 (17) | 164.0 (13) | 295.0 (13) | 6 |
| DEFENSE | 213.0 (26) | 180.0 (20) | 393.0 (25) | 3 |
Line: Bears by 2½
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicago Bears (2-0-0) | 3 | 3 | 3 | 7 | 16 |
| San Francisco 49ers (0-2-0) | 7 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 13 |
( 3- 0) CHI Bob Thomas 32 yard field goal
( 3- 7) SF O.J. Simpson 8 yard pass from Steve DeBerg (Ray Wersching kick)
( 6- 7) CHI Bob Thomas 44 yard field goal
( 6-10) SF Ray Wersching 44 yard field goal
( 9-10) CHI Bob Thomas 38 yard field goal
( 9-13) SF Ray Wersching 27 yard field goal
(16-13) CHI Roland Harper 1 yard rush (Bob Thomas kick)
CHI SF
First Downs: 11 19
Rushes-yards: 37-111 41-195
Yards/rush: 3.0 4.8
Comp-Att-Yd-INT: 7-22-115-1 12-32-112-3
Sacked-yards: 3-14 0-0
Net pass yards: 101 112
Net yards/pass: 4.0 3.5
Total net yards: 212 307
Total plays: 62 (59% run) 73 (56% run)
Yards/play: 3.4 4.2
Fumbles-lost: 1-0 2-1
Turnovers: 1 4
Penalties-yards: 8-101 10-91
Attendance: 49,502
Passing:
CHI: Bob Avellini, 7 of 22 for 115 yards (1 int) SF: Steve DeBerg, 12 of 32 for 112 yards and 1 TD (3 int)
Rushing:
CHI: Walter Payton, 21 for 62 yards; Roland Harper, 12 for 49 yards and 1 TD; Bob Avellini, 4 for 0 yards SF: O.J. Simpson, 27 for 108 yards; Greg Boykin, 13 for 80 yards; Freddie Solomon, 1 for 7 yards
Receiving:
CHI: James Scott, 3 for 87 yards; Roland Harper, 3 for 25 yards; Walter Payton, 1 for 3 yards SF: O.J. Simpson, 5 for 56 yards and 1 TD; Terry LeCount, 3 for 18 yards; Greg Boykin, 2 for 12 yards; Freddie Solomon, 1 for 17 yards; Ken MacAfee, 1 for 9 yards
Kick returns:
CHI: Brian Baschnagel, 2 for 58 yards; Mike Morgan, 1 for 23 yards; Robin Earl, 1 for 9 yards SF: Dave Williams, 2 for 64 yards; Terry LeCount, 1 for 22 yards; Walt Downing, 1 for 13 yards
Punt returns:
CHI: Steve Schubert, 1 for 6 yards SF: Freddie Solomon, 3 for 18 yards
Interceptions:
CHI: Doug Buffone, 2 for 22 yards; Terry Schmidt, 1 for 23 yards SF: Vern Roberson, 1 for 31 yards
Punting:
CHI: Bob Parsons, 7 for 297 yards SF: Mike Connell, 6 for 216 yards
Field Goals:
CHI: Bob Thomas, 3/3 SF: Ray Wersching, 2/2
CHI: Bob Avellini, 7 of 22 for 115 yards (1 int) SF: Steve DeBerg, 12 of 32 for 112 yards and 1 TD (3 int)
Rushing:
CHI: Walter Payton, 21 for 62 yards; Roland Harper, 12 for 49 yards and 1 TD; Bob Avellini, 4 for 0 yards SF: O.J. Simpson, 27 for 108 yards; Greg Boykin, 13 for 80 yards; Freddie Solomon, 1 for 7 yards
Receiving:
CHI: James Scott, 3 for 87 yards; Roland Harper, 3 for 25 yards; Walter Payton, 1 for 3 yards SF: O.J. Simpson, 5 for 56 yards and 1 TD; Terry LeCount, 3 for 18 yards; Greg Boykin, 2 for 12 yards; Freddie Solomon, 1 for 17 yards; Ken MacAfee, 1 for 9 yards
Kick returns:
CHI: Brian Baschnagel, 2 for 58 yards; Mike Morgan, 1 for 23 yards; Robin Earl, 1 for 9 yards SF: Dave Williams, 2 for 64 yards; Terry LeCount, 1 for 22 yards; Walt Downing, 1 for 13 yards
Punt returns:
CHI: Steve Schubert, 1 for 6 yards SF: Freddie Solomon, 3 for 18 yards
Interceptions:
CHI: Doug Buffone, 2 for 22 yards; Terry Schmidt, 1 for 23 yards SF: Vern Roberson, 1 for 31 yards
Punting:
CHI: Bob Parsons, 7 for 297 yards SF: Mike Connell, 6 for 216 yards
Field Goals:
CHI: Bob Thomas, 3/3 SF: Ray Wersching, 2/2