SAN FRANCISCO – Four days after getting gashed by the NFL’s lowest-ranked rushing attack in a blowout loss to the Cardinals, the Bears will look to rebound tonight against running back Frank Gore and the 49ers.

Gore has rushed for 447 yards and 5 touchdowns on 80 carries this season, a robust 5.6-yard average that ranks third among the league’s top 36 rushers. The 5-9, 217-pounder has gained 206 yards on 41 carries in three games since returning from an ankle injury that sidelined him for two contests.

Bears linebacker Hunter Hillenmeyer tackles 49ers running back Frank Gore during a 2005 game at Soldier Field.

“North and south, he’s the best in the league,” said defensive tackle Anthony Adams. “He gets downhill fast. He’s not a guy who’s going to get on the edge and do a lot. He’s going to get up into the 'A' gaps [between the center and guards] and just run, and he’s doing that very well. You need to get there.

“He’s the kind of guy that will run through you and run away from you, so we’ve got to be on top of our games, and our safeties have to be in their right gaps.”

Gore was voted to the Pro Bowl in 2006 after leading the NFC in rushing with a 49ers-record 1,695 yards. This season, he has touchdown runs of 80, 79 and 64 yards.

“He can do it all,” said coach Lovie Smith. “He’s another Pro Bowler. He has great vision and makes good cuts. This year he’s scored on a lot of long touchdown runs. He’s a complete running back. He will be a big challenge for our team.”

Gore will face a Bears run defense that has dropped from ninth to 21st in the NFL rankings after allowing an average of 191.3 yards in the last three games. That includes 182 yards last Sunday against Arizona, which entered the contest averaging a league-low 64.9 yards on the ground.

Man in the middle: The 49ers’ 3-4 defense is led by inside linebacker Patrick Willis, who has registered 86 tackles, 2½ sacks, two interceptions, two forced fumbles and six tackles-for-loss this season. According to the statistics distributed following games, his 86 tackles rank third in the NFL.

“He’s one of the top linebackers in the game,” said quarterback Jay Cutler. “Just watching him make plays, he’s very active, a lot of intensity, a great tackler, good awareness.”

Willis was selected the NFL’s defensive rookie of the year in 2007, and he’s been voted to the Pro Bowl in each of his first two seasons. After San Francisco’s 34-27 loss to the Titans last Sunday, Tennessee coach Jeff Fisher said: “[Running back Chris Johnson] would have had three more touchdowns had [Willis] not been on the field. It was an outstanding defensive effort by Patrick Willis.”

Going to Greg: Willis could be matched up in coverage at times with Greg Olsen. In last Sunday’s loss to the Cardinals, the Bears tight end finally had the breakout game that many observers had been anticipating, catching five passes for a season-high 71 yards and three touchdowns.

“He’s been keyed on all year,” Cutler said. “That’s been a challenge for us to get him the ball because he’s been getting jammed at the line a lot. He’s been getting a lot of double teams in the red zone. Teams have known that we want to try to get him the ball. We just were able to find some ways to get him the ball last Sunday.”

Olsen became the first Bears tight end with three TD catches in a game since Greg Latta on Dec. 21, 1975 at New Orleans and the first Bears player since receiver Marty Booker on Nov. 18, 2001 at Tampa Bay.

Fearsome foursome: Cutler did an excellent job of spreading the ball around against the Cardinals as four Bears players had at least 70 yards receiving in a game for the first time in 66 years.

Joining Olsen were Devin Hester (94 yards), Earl Bennett (93) and Matt Forte (74). The last time four Bears receivers had 70 or more yards in a game was on Nov. 14, 1943 against the Giants when Harry Clarke (96), Ray McLean (95), Hampton Pool (90) and Jim Benton (73) accomplished the feat.