P.J. Fleck may be mistaken.

While Fleck was signing autographs after his San Francisco 49ers lost to the Chicago Bears 20-13 Saturday night at Soldier Field, a fan asked for his game gloves.

Fleck told the fan he couldn’t give away the gloves because he’s “a free agent – a nobody.”

If his performance in the preseason game is any indication, Fleck certainly isn’t a nobody. The Kaneland native caught two passes, including one that TV commentator Mike Ditka called “big-time” for 46 yards while also seeing time on special teams, returning one punt for four yards.

The 5-foot-10-inch, 190-pound Fleck downplayed his first pro catch, which came with 7:15 to go in the third quarter, and netted 18 yards. Fleck found a soft spot in the Bears’ zone and made a leaping grab of quarterback Brandon Doman’s throw.

“That’s a big weight off your shoulders to get that first catch,” Fleck said. “He put the ball where only I could get it. It was kind of high, but I went up and got it. To me, it wasn’t that great of a catch. It’s my job to catch the ball. I’m supposed to catch the ball. When I stop doing that, I’ll be gone.”

A cheering section, which included Fleck’s parents and about 100 other people, roared with applause after the catch.

“It was so nice to have my family and friends there,” Fleck said. “They’ve supported me in everything.”

On his first pro punt return, Fleck had room down the right sideline, but a familiar face had other ideas and tripped up Fleck. Leon Joe, who was on the nationally-ranked Maryland squad that was upset by Fleck’s Huskies in 2003, prevented him from breaking a big return.

“I need to pick my knees up a little bit more,” Fleck said. “One of my teammates made a nice block, and I saw a lane to the right, but Joe clipped my foot and brought me down.”

Fleck earned the praise of Ditka again in the fourth quarter when he lined up to field a punt by the Bears’ Brooks Barnard. Barnard’s punt was angled toward the left sideline, but Fleck drew a flurry of Bears’ defenders over to the right side of the field by faking that he was catching the ball. Fleck’s ploy worked, but his plan backfired; Barnard’s punt was downed at the four-yard line.

After Fleck decked the Bears and a cameraman, Ditka called Fleck’s play a “great fake.”

“That’s something I worked on at Northern with coach [Joe] Novak,” Fleck said. “The goal is to pull defenders away from the ball. Unfortunately, the ball hit the ground and basically just stopped.”

Fleck’s second catch came on the second-to-last play of the game, when Cody Pickett found him down the right sideline for a 28-yard gain. He took a punishing hit from Cameron Worrell but popped right back up and sprinted to the 49ers’ huddle.

Ever the team player, Fleck insisted on talking about his 0-2 team when asked about his performance.

“I would say I’m pleased with my performance, but it would have been nice to pick up the win,” Fleck said. “We need to get that first win.”

The next round of cuts for the 49ers comes a week from today, if not sooner, after the 49ers’ third preseason game against the Minnesota Vikings. NIU head coach Joe Novak knows that Fleck, who has been dubbed Rudy by the San Francisco television stations, will show the team everything that he’s capable of.

“He’s infectious,” Novak said. “If you test him and measure him, he doesn’t stand out. But the more he’s around, he grows on you. He’s a classy guy who gets everything out of what he’s got. That’s why he’s been able to get as far as he has.”