3 takeaways from the San Francisco 49ers' defeat against the Chicago Bears as Trey Lance struggles in the driving rain
The Chicago Bears hosted the San Francisco 49ers in unseasonal conditions on the opening weekend of the 2022 NFL season. Chicago emerged 19-10 victors from a match that no one saw them winning, until they did. Sophomore quarterbacks Trey Lance and Justin Fields struggled valiantly on a flooded Soldier Field, with conditions making it difficult to judge their performances.
Here are my three biggest takeaways from the 49ers-Bears game:
#1. A monsoon on the field created sub-optimal conditions to evaluate these second-year QBs
That new turf at Soldier Field led to water being up to the ankles of players and it was pretty hard to really judge anything we saw. Fields was too aggressive on the Bears' second drive trying to hit a deep hook, which was picked off by Talanoa Hufanga. Lance followed that up by missing Tyler Kroft for a touchdown on a concept I’ve seen him hit big chunks on in college (where they’d fake zone action and had the backside tight-end so to speak get into the drag route off that), before bending it up the sideline going into the boundary.
With the weather, turnovers were expected. First, a Deebo Samuel fumble, second, a Talanoa Hufanga interception of Justin Fields https://t.co/D4UODTmL3T
However, Lance did hit a beautifully layered throw to Ray-Ray McCloud on an over route to set up their only touchdown. He drove the ball to Brandon Aiyuk on a deep out to the wide side of the field the next time out and then set up a field goal coming out of halftime (when he dropped the ball into the bucket on a slot fade to Jauan Jennings).
With him, the issue was more so nose-diving the ball when having to get it out quickly on some screens and running himself into trouble once the first two reads weren’t open. Plus, he had that pick trying to hit a slant route to Jennings, where he kind of stared it down and Eddie Jackson made a great play.
Eddie Jackson intercepts Trey Lance. #Bears #49ers https://t.co/8o1TD6KiNj
Fields was under pressure throughout the first half and made most of his plays by tucking the ball on bootlegs and just running around back there, going three-of-nine for just 19 yards and that pick. In the second half, he threw the ball right at the chest of a corner, working an outside curl route without any separation. But to his credit, he came right back and found Dante Pettis all by himself across the field after escaping the pocket, allowing the receiver to stroll in for a 51-yard touchdown. He lobbed the ball to Equanimeous St. Brown for a 18-yard score, running down the middle from a stack off play-action.
Worryingly, Fields completed only eight passes on the day and Chicago regularly ran the ball or set up RB screens on third downs.
#2. The Bears young defensive players act like they belong already
While I did like a lot of their guys from the last few drafts (such as Jaylon Johnson, Kyler Gordon and Jaquan Brisker in the secondary), along with some free agency additions up front, I didn’t expect things to come together as quickly as it seemingly has – for one game at least.
You saw the Bears rally to the ball for 60 minutes, everybody funnel the ball back to their teammates and work off blocks to slow down the ball-carrier. They collapsed the pocket from all angles and forced Trey Lance on the other side to make some tight-window throws (which was a definite challenge in inclimate weather).
Fifth-round rookie defensive end Dominique Robinson recorded the first 1.5 sacks of his career and flashed on multiple other occasions. Their corners did a great job in run support to shut down plays to the edges while not missing any tackles and second-round safety Jaquan Brisker played with such a high level of energy that the ball seemed to find him. This is how he jumped on a fumble forced by Johnson to deny the Niners in the red-zone on their opening possession. The weather certainly helped, but I like the style of play I’ve seen from this unit under Matt Eberflus.
#3. I’m still very worried about Chicago’s offensive tackle situation
I don’t like having to end on a sour note here for a team that won as touchdown-underdogs. But my god, Justin Fields looked like a human pinata for the majority of Sunday, when the Bears had to drop back.
Here’s how the Bears' offensive possessions in the first half ended: Fields getting sacked on third-and-long, as three 49ers D-linemen literally got him simultaneously. Next, he threw a pick to Talanoa Hufanga. Nick Bosa then rag-dolled the left tackle right into Fields for another sack. This was followed by a straight-up zone carry and a screen pass to David Montgomery each on third-and-long that got stopped short. They then put together their lone drive with more than one first down, where a personal foul pushed them out of field goal-range.
Chicago’s pass protection was a mess all day long, as Fields was either sacked, pressured or forced to scramble on 11 of his 22 dropbacks. Considering how he was able to overcome this and the lack of receiving talent, he deserves a ton of credit. But he can’t constantly have the pocket collapse from both edges like we saw on Sunday.
Check out my piece on the full week one slate at halilsrealfootballtalk.com !