Even before the 49ers took the field in what resembled a marshland more than it did a football field, they were met with the unfortunate news that first-year starter Trey Lance would be playing QB without one of his key weapons in All-Pro tight-end George Kittle. Nursing a groin injury suffered in Monday's practice, Kittle was a game-time decision before being ruled out just before kickoff. Once the game started, things began to look up for San Francisco as the 49er defense forced a three and out on Chicago's opening-drive. The offense would start things off at midfield before marching into enemy territory and making it as far as the Bears' 12-yard line when disaster struck. Getting his first carry of the season after a big payday in the offseason, Deebo Samuel was stripped of the ball, fumbling away a chance at taking an early lead as the drive went up in flames. Helping the Niners get the ball back moments later would be second-year safety Talanoa Hufanga who had himself a day tallying a career-high 11 tackles and recorded his first career interception on Chicago's second possession.
After both teams exchanged a pair of punts, the 49ers finally got on the board in the second quarter when Deebo made up for his early mistake by taking a handoff from 6 yards out into the end zone for a touchdown. It would be one of the game's few bright spots for San Francisco and the lone score of the first half as the score remained 7-0 at halftime. Chicago nearly got on the board just before the half when they setup for a field goal attempt before being penalized as kicker Cairo Santos used a towel to dry the field prior to the kick. In what will likely be one of the more bizarre penalties you'll see called this year, the 49ers caught a break for a brief moment as the penalty knocked the Bears out of field goal range. While the 49ers managed to dominate the box score in the first half, they could've easily been up by three scores if not for a QB-sack that knocked them out of field goal range and an overthrown pass on a deep ball to a wide-open Tyler Kroft for a would-be touchdown. Instead, the game would be a tale of two halves.
After San Francisco took a 10-0 lead following the first possession of the second half, the Bears would steal all momentum and never look back as the 49ers began to shoot themselves in the foot with self-inflicted miscues and penalties that quickly began to mount. While the Niners didn't exactly have everything working for them in the first half, the handful of things that were, began to slow following their first possession of the third quarter. After tallying two quarterback sacks in the opening quarter, the 49er defense would not record another the rest of the way. Also, second-year running back Elijah Mitchell who led the team in rushing a season ago and was expected to be the team's bell cow this year, was forced to leave the game in the second quarter with an apparent knee injury and did not return for the second half. Also not returning in the second half was San Francisco's run game as they rushed for 115 yards in the first half, compared to just 61 in the second. Before departing Sunday's game, Mitchell who finished with 41 yards rushing on 6 carries, eclipsed the 1,000 career yards total to become the fastest player in franchise history to reach the century mark, needing only 12 games to do so.
Appearing to have the Bears on the ropes with a would-be punt following a no-gain on a rushing attempt on third and 4, Chicago was gifted a first down on a 15-yard face-mask penalty on linebacker Dre Greenlaw who wasn't even needed on the play as Chicago's David Montgomery was gang-tackled. Three plays later, the 49er defense appeared to have Bears quarterback Justin Fields dead to rights in the backfield for a sack, but instead allowed him to escape and launch a deep ball down the sideline to a wide-open receiver in former 49er Dante Pettis who scored on a 51-yard touchdown. The Bears suddenly found themselves back in the game and trailing 10-7. This after San Francisco's defense held Fields to just 19 net passing yards in the first half, the fewest they've allowed since 2019, as well as a passer rating of 2.8 in the first half, the lowest registered by an opposing quarterback in a first half against the 49ers since 1973 when passer rating became an official statistic.
Following a San Francisco punt, the Bears got the ball back and benefited from another pair of bad penalties on third down, including one on 3rd and 9 that prolonged the drive that eventually gave the Bears a lead they would not relinquish. After jumping out to a 10-0 lead, the 49ers allowed Chicago to score 19 unanswered-points on touchdowns scored on each of their first three possessions of the second half, the last of which setup by a Trey Lance interception. Any chance of a comeback would disappear for San Francisco as the penalties loomed costly and often, not to mention the field conditions which only grew worse the later the game went as visibility or lack thereof quickly became a factor. Playing catchup and needing to air out the ball, mother nature couldn't have cared less as back to back drives ending in a turnover on downs spelled doom for the Niners who fell, 19-10.
While nobody on either sideline played great, San Francisco's miscues far outweighed those of Chicago's, most notably in the penalty department. Proving to be the more sloppy of the two teams, the 49ers were tagged with 12 penalties for a total of 99 yards, including three on third downs on consecutive drives that led to Chicago's first two touchdowns, compared to just 3 penalties for 24 yards on Chicago. Despite the final score, San Francisco had Chicago's number in numerous statistical categories that usually translate to wins, but not in this one. The 49ers ran 11 more plays on offense than the Bears, while gaining 127 more yards of offense and possessing the ball nearly 7 minutes longer. Hopefully Kyle Shanahan and company can steer clear of monsoon weather the rest of the way this season.
Week 2 Preview - As much as everyone wants to blame the loss on the young quarterback who didn't receive any favors from his offensive-line on Sunday as Lance was constantly under pressure despite little to no blitzing from Chicago's defense, the Week 1 loss was not a fair assessment of Lance's quarterbacking abilities given the elements. Kicking off the home-opener and facing the Seattle Seahawks at Levi's Stadium, 49ers QB Trey Lance should have a much dryer field to play on and a second chance at making a first impression as the team's starting quarterback. Coming off a Week 1 victory at home over the Denver Broncos on Monday Night Football, the Seahawks were the only team in the NFC West to come out victorious thru the first week as the Niners, Rams and Cardinals all suffered losses. In an emotional rollercoaster that provided plenty of ups and downs and lots of drama late, Seattle outlasted their former quarterback Russell Wilson with a 17-16 win. Handing the Seahawks' all-time leader in wins and the greatest player in franchise history a Week 1 loss was Seattle QB Geno Smith who outplayed Wilson in many ways despite finishing with over 100 fewer yards, especially in the first half.
Hoping to get George Kittle back in time for the first divisional game of the season, the 49ers will have to look elsewhere in the backfield as running back Elijah Mitchell will miss 8 weeks with an MCL sprain. While the first-year starter who was drafted in the sixth-round in last year's Draft out of Louisiana will not need surgery, Mitchell's absence will deal a huge blow to coach Shanahan's offense as big things were expected from team's leading rusher from a season ago. And just like last season with Raheem Mostert who was lost for the season in Detroit, also with a knee injury, the 49ers are forced to go in a different direction with their starting running back less than one full game in. Backup running back Jeff Wilson Jr. is expected to get the bulk of the team's carries, with rookies Tyrion Davis-Price and Jordan Mason fighting for seconds behind him.
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