Neither Team Is Too Happy About 49ers’ Win in Berlin

Chicago Bear quarterback Jim Harbaugh hopes to remember the food, the fans and the excitement of a week in Germany.

What he wants to forget is Saturday’s loss to the San Francisco 49ers.

Harbaugh completed seven of 14 passes for 77 yards and the Bears got their only touchdown on a reverse as they were defeated, 21-7, by San Francisco in an exhibition game at Olympic Stadium.

“I had a good time here, except for tonight,” Harbaugh said. “We just didn’t do enough good things to win.”

Bear Coach Mike Ditka also failed to enjoy his evening.

“More or less we embarrassed ourselves out there today,” Ditka said. “We didn’t execute. When we did have people open, we didn’t throw the ball that well. There’s a lot of room for improvement.”

San Francisco Coach George Seifert also had some complaints after the contest, especially with a running game that gained only 25 yards on 13 carries in the first half.

“As far as the running aspect goes, we weren’t as effective as we had to be, so it’s an area that we’ve got to continue to work on,” Seifert said.

The 49ers were rescued by quarterbacks Joe Montana and Steve Young, each of whom threw for a touchdown as San Francisco improved its preseason record to 2-0. The Bears are 1-1.

Montana threw a 19-yard touchdown pass to Jerry Rice and Young had a four-yard scoring toss to Sanjay Beach. The 49ers also got a two-yard touchdown run from fullback Keith Henderson.

Chicago’s only points came on a 22-yard reverse by wide receiver Glen Kozlowski.

Montana completed 12 of 18 passes for 136 yards as San Francisco won its first overseas game after exhibition losses in London in 1988 and Tokyo in 1989. Young completed nine of 11 for 72 yards.

The game drew 66,876 to the stadium in which Jesse Owens destroyed Adolf Hitler’s theory of Aryan supremacy by winning four gold medals in the 1936 Olympics.

Former East German skating star Katerina Witt tossed the coin before the game, but there also was plenty of Americana. Hamburgers were sold alongside bratwurst, and one concession stand offered “Original Amerikanische Chicken Wings mit Barbecue Sauce.”

The fans came to see American football on a sultry Saturday night, but for the first quarter it seemed like more of a soccer match with no scoring and play concentrated in the middle of the field.

The 49ers finally broke through midway in the second quarter when Montana lofted a 19-yard pass over the middle to a wide-open Rice.