49ers fail to answer Bears’ surge in season-opener
San Francisco 49ers’ Trey Lance passes in 1st quarter against Chicago Bears during NFL game at Soldier Field in Chicago, IL, on Sunday, September 11, 2022. Scott Strazzante / The Chronicle
2022.09.11 – San Francisco 49ers failed to answer the Bears’ surge in the second half of the game and were shut down by Chicago in a 19-10 loss on a rainy Sunday afternoon at Soldier Field.
Trey Lance got the keys to San Francisco’s offense in July. When it comes to driving in the rain, well, that still needs some work.
With Jimmy Garoppolo watching from the sideline, Lance threw a costly interception in his third career start, and the 49ers hurt themselves with 12 penalties for 99 yards.
“Just too many mistakes I still have to clean up, for sure, for me,” Lance said. “But, man, excited. Still got my head up. Excited to get ready to go next week.”
Lance was named the starter at the beginning of training camp after Garoppolo directed San Francisco to the NFC championship last season. The 22-year-old quarterback appeared in six games as a rookie after he was selected by the 49ers with the No. 3 pick in the 2021 draft.
San Francisco tried to trade Garoppolo in the off-season, but ended up keeping him around as the backup under a reworked contract.
The decision to go with Lance — along with the continued presence of Garoppolo — likely will follow the team around all season long. Lance showed why the Niners made the move in the opener, making a couple of nice throws and rushing for a team-high 54 yards, but it also looks as if there are going to be some growing pains along the way.
2022.09.11 – (SF 49ers @ CHI Bears) NFL Video Highlights
San Francisco 49ers’ Trey Lance is stopped by Chicago Bears’ Roquan Smith and Dominique Robinson during the first half of an NFL football game Sunday, Sept. 11, 2022, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)
2022.09.11 – (SF 49ers @ CHI Bears) NFL Video Highlights
“Just frustrated a little bit. Feel like I’m a little better than that,” Lance said.
Lance and San Francisco played without star tight end George Kittle, who was inactive because of a groin injury. Then running back Elijah Mitchell left in the first half with a knee injury.
Asked about Mitchell, coach Kyle Shanahan said he wasn’t sure how long he would be out.
“I know they thought he had a chance to come back, then they ruled him out a quarter later,” Shanahan said.
Deebo Samuel’s 6-yard touchdown run helped San Francisco build a 10-0 lead. But the Niners also wasted a prime scoring opportunity when Samuel fumbled deep in Bears territory on the team’s first drive of the game.
Chicago got on the board when Justin Fields passed to a wide-open Dante Pettis, and the wide receiver made his way to the end zone for a 51-yard TD with 5:32 left in the third.
After Chicago jumped in front on another Fields touchdown pass, Lance was intercepted by Eddie Jackson on San Francisco’s first drive of the fourth. The Bears turned the miscue into Khalil Herbert’s 3-yard TD run and a 19-10 lead with 7:21 to go.
“I’m disappointed about some of the silly mistakes we did to (ourselves),” Shanahan said. “That’s not just our young guys. It’s veterans that have done a lot of good things for us. It’s the whole team that needs to clean that stuff up to have a chance to do what we want to do.”
With the rain picking up again at the end of the fourth, Lance and the Niners were shut out the rest of the way. Lance connected on 13 of 28 passes for 164 yards on the day, including a glaring miss with Tyler Kroft open down the field in the first quarter.
“We’ve got a young team. We’ll bounce back,” offensive lineman Trent Williams said. “We’ll be better next week. Anytime you let a team hang around it’s never going to be that good.”
2022.09.11 – SF 49ers @ CHI Bears (NBC sports: Post-Game Show)
San Francisco 49ers’ Trey Lance leaves the field after 19-10 loss to Chicago Bears during NFL game at Soldier Field in Chicago, IL, on Sunday, September 11, 2022. Scott Strazzante / The Chronicle
2022.09.11 – SF 49ers @ CHI Bears (NBC sports: Post-Game Show)
2022.09.11 – SF 49ers @ CHI Bears (NBC sports: Post-Game Show)
TE George Kittle sidelined
49ers tight end Kittle was inactive for Sunday’s game at the Chicago Bears because of a groin injury.
Kittle got hurt during a light practice on Monday. He was listed as out on Sunday’s injury report.
Kittle’s injury meant Lance was without one of his top targets in his third career start. The 28-year-old Kittle also is a key part of San Francisco’s running game as one of the better blocking tight ends in the league.
Kittle has been hampered by injuries in recent years. He missed three games with a calf injury last season, eight games in 2020 with injuries to his knee and foot, and three games in 2019 with a groin injury.
Kittle had 71 catches for 910 yards and six touchdowns in 14 games last season. His 335 catches since entering the league in 2017 rank third among all tight ends in that span and he is second with 4,489 yards receiving.
With Kittle out, the Niners turned to Charlie Woerner, Ross Dwelley and Kroft at tight end. All three players were active for the season opener.
Fields throws 2 TDs
Justin Fields rolled to his left with two defenders closing in on him. As his quarterback scrambled one way, Dante Pettis broke toward the opposite side.
Fields saw his receiver wide open. He lofted a pass across the field, and Pettis took it the rest of the way for a 51-yard touchdown that kicked the Bears into gear.
Fields threw for two second-half scores, Eddie Jackson set up a TD with an interception and Chicago gave coach Matt Eberflus a win in his head coaching debut, on a rain-soaked Sunday.
2022.09.11 – 49ers vs. Bears (LOMBARDI: Post-Game Show)
Chicago Bears’ Justin Fields and Ihmir Smith-Marsette celebrate after an NFL football game against the San Francisco 49ers Sunday, Sept. 11, 2022, in Chicago. The Bears won 19-10. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
2022.09.11 – 49ers vs. Bears (LOMBARDI: Post-Game Show)
2022.09.11 – 49ers vs. Bears (LOMBARDI: Post-Game Show)
It was a sweet start for a new regime. The Bears decided to make major changes after last season, when they went 6-11 and missed the playoffs for the ninth time in 11 years.
General manager Ryan Poles and Eberflus took over for the fired Ryan Pace and Matt Nagy. And their first game was a win over a team that played in the NFC championship game last season. Go figure.
“I’m not surprised. I’m not surprised,” Eberflus said. “I thought the guys executed. I thought that they hung in there. That’s what you’ve got to do in the NFL. It’s never going to be perfect, it’s always going to be hard. Always. Most times it comes down to the end, just like that. That’s the way the NFL is.”
Fields shook off a rough first half. The long touchdown to Pettis, a former 49er, with the Bears trailing 10-0 was, he said, “the play that changed the momentum of our game.”
Fields connected with Equanimeous St. Brown for an 18-yarder early in the fourth to put Chicago on top 13-10. Jackson then picked off Trey Lance near midfield for his first interception since 2019 and returned the ball to the 21. That led to a 6-yard touchdown run by Khalil Herbert, making it 19-10.
Fields, the No. 11 overall pick in 2019, was 8 of 17 for 121 yards with two touchdowns and an interception. The former Ohio State star is trying to convince Eberflus and new general manager Ryan Poles he can solidify a position that has long been a weakness for Chicago.
“Coach always says it’s mental and physical stamina,” Fields said. “Who can play the longest, the hardest and just play every play. We won this game with mental and physical stamina.”
RAIN, RAIN AND MORE RAIN
Heavy rain flooded the area and drenched the new Bermuda grass installed this week instead of the traditional Kentucky bluegrass used in a stadium often criticized for its choppy surface. As the final seconds ticked away, Bears players took head-first dives into the drenched end zone.
PENALTIES, MISSED CHANCES
The 49ers were hurt by 12 penalties for 99 yards and were just 1 for 3 in the red zone. Combine that with the opportunities they missed, and it wasn’t hard to figure out why they lost.
“You see that in the stat sheet and you know what happened out there,” coach Kyle Shanahan said.
Lance, drafted eight spots ahead of Fields, completed 13 of 28 passes for 164 yards and an interception.
“Man, I made too many mistakes,” he said.
Samuel ran for a 6-yard score in the second quarter after losing a fumble deep in Chicago territory in the early going. But he caught just two passes for 14 yards.
Nick Bosa added a sack.
“We know what we need to fix,” Samuel said. “We were real good in the locker room as far as people knowing what we need to do to win the game.”
INJURIES
49ers: Mitchell — who set a franchise rookie record with 963 yards rushing last season — ran for 41 before exiting in the second quarter. Shanahan said the medical staff initially thought he could return to the game. He said he was not sure if this will be a long-term injury.
Bears: The Bears announced no injuries during the game.
UP NEXT
49ers: Host Seattle on Sept. 18.
Bears: Visit Green Bay on Sept. 18.
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Read more at: San Francisco 49ers Media Services / More AP NFL
JEstevez@EMIsportsCentral.com
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