By Adam Hoge-

SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Marc Trestman can see the future.

OK, probably not. But when asked Friday about the need to get off to a fast start against the 49ers, this is what the Bears’ head coach said:

“We talk a lot about fast starting, but at the end of the day, you know what’s really important? How the team finishes the game. Because you can get lulled to sleep with a fast start as well.”

Apparently the 49ers got lulled to sleep by the 17-0 lead they built on the Bears in the first half Sunday because the Bears scored 28 of the last 31 points in the game to spoil opening night at Levi’s Stadium and stun the 49ers 28-20.

How bad was the Bears’ start to the game? They punted six straight times to start the game and their first punt was blocked.

How good was the Bears’ finish to the game? They scored touchdowns on their last four drives. Those 28 points were all they needed.

“We fell apart in all three phases,” Trestman said about the slow start. “We couldn’t get anything started. And we got in our own way on a lot of it.”

That’s Trestman being candid. And it’s still an understatement.

The Bears’ offense was non-existent for most of the first half and the special teams was about as bad as you’ll ever see at the NFL level. The only positive was the defense, which didn’t play horrible in the first half despite giving up 17 points. Safety Chris Conte made an incredible diving interception and Jared Allen forced a fumble, but the offense did nothing with the two first half takeaways.

“We were lucky to only be down 10 points at halftime because we had the two turnovers that we didn’t really do anything with,” Trestman said.

Games don’t usually swing when your franchise quarterback gets drilled in the sternum and is slow to get up, but that’s pretty much how Sunday’s wacky game went. With 1:03 left in the first half, Jay Cutler was pummeled by 49ers defensive tackle Quinton Dial.

And from there, the Bears never looked back.

Three plays later, Brandon Marshall made a ridiculous one-handed grab in the end zone for a 17-yard touchdown and suddenly a 17-7 deficit didn’t seem all that bad.

“I thought (Marshall) was excellent,” Trestman said. “The play he made really sparked us. That was an exceptional catch on any field at any time.”

Marshall was excellent, catching three touchdowns on the night, but it was the poise of Cutler that helped the offense turn things around. After the brutal shot to the sternum, Cutler completed 15-of-16 passes for 138 yards and four touchdowns.

It was the kind of performance that makes you quickly forget about the regrettable fourth quarter interception he threw in last week’s loss to the Bills.

“I think Jay has had an excellent start to the season minus one play,” Trestman said. “I think he’s played really well. He led the way this whole week … We all looked to him this week to see how he would handle the adversity of last week and he stood tall throughout the week and our players followed.”

Of course the comeback wouldn’t have been possible without the play of the Bears’ defense, which, if you haven’t noticed, is much, much better than last year’s unit.

For the second straight week, the Bears trailed 17-7 at the half. And for the second straight week, the defense only allowed three second half points.

“I told you guys last week that we are close,” linebacker Lance Briggs said after he finished with six tackles and a number of impressive run stuffs.

But the biggest defensive plays of the night were the two fourth quarter interceptions by rookie cornerback Kyle Fuller. The first-round draft pick essentially flipped the entire game around in just a matter of minutes in the fourth quarter.

Just one play after the Bears had cut the deficit to 20-14 with 13:41 left in the game, Fuller drove down hard to the outside shoulder of Michael Crabtree and essentially stole the ball from him. And on the very next play, Cutler hit Martellus Bennett for a touchdown.

In a matter of three snaps, the Bears had turned a 20-7 deficit into a 21-20 lead.

Then, on the next 49ers’ drive, Fuller picked off Colin Kaepernick again, leading to Cutler’s fourth and final touchdown of the night.

Making the entire night even more improbable was that the defense was playing without cornerback Charles Tillman (triceps), safety Chris Conte (shoulder) and defensive tackle Jeremiah Ratliff (concussion) for most of the second half. Tillman’s injury was especially devastating because he hurt the same triceps he tore a year ago, an injury that cost him the rest of his season. With Tillman out, Fuller and Tim Jennings were the only two healthy cornerbacks the Bears had left, so rookie safety Brock Vereen had to come in and play as the nickel cornerback even though he said he has not received a single rep of practice at the position since he was drafted in the fourth round in May.

“The mentality of the game is that you’re one play away. If somebody goes down, you have to step it up and do the same things that he does to make plays,” Fuller said.

The rookie certainly delivered, although no one seemed surprised. Coaches and players have talked about Fuller like a sure-thing even though he missed a significant amount of time in the preseason with an ankle injury.

“We knew it since day one,” Cutler said. “Day one he came out there and was manning up B and Alshon…”

At that point, Marshall had to cut in. “Relax,” he quipped.

But the wide receiver has seen Fuller up close in practice and he knows the kid’s potential. Marshall even admitted that he had to watch film on Fuller during training camp because the rookie was beating him in practice.

“I had to go in there in the Weber Center and just watch what he was going because he surprised us,” Marshall said.

Fuller’s emergence couldn’t have come at a better time for a team looking at a likely 0-2 start to the season. Undoubtedly, the circumstances of Sunday night’s win in Santa Clara will make it one to remember for a long time. The victory didn’t quite match the craziness of the Monday night win in Arizona in 2006, but it might have been more improbable given the opponent and expectations coming into the game.

“We played four quarters tonight,” Trestman said. “We certainly didn’t start well in all three phases. Guys gathered themselves and went back to work. Just want to congratulate our coaches and our players for staying with it and finishing the entire game.”

They deserve to be celebrated. They may have saved the season.

Adam Hoge covers the Bears for 87.7 The Game and TheGameChicago.com. Follow him on Twitter at @AdamHoge.