Bears Shine in the Rain

 

September 12, 2022

The Chicago Bears pulled of a stunning upset over the San Francisco 49ers winning their home opener 19-10. This was a game of two halves in which the Bears came from behind to win. I know it’s only one win but a win is a win.

 The 49ers scored on their first second half possession to go in front 10-0. Bear fans may have been thinking here we go again. However, for the first time in years the coaching staff made halftime adjustments. The Bears only had 68 yards and QB Justin Fields couldn’t complete a downfield pass in the first. Fields had to be better for the Bears to have a chance. His first touchdown pass was a thing of beauty as he broke tackles, reversed fields and found wide receiver Dante Pettis wide open and with a key block from wide receiver Equanimeous St. Brown scampered 30 yards into the end zone.

The 49ers committed 12 penalties many resulting in first downs. They committed three third down penalties aiding the Bears next touchdown, an eighteen yard pass to Brown and suddenly the Bears were up 13-10. The Bears later cashed in on a turnover. This short drive ended with Khalil Herbert scoring from five yards out and 19-10 lead.

Another thing we haven’t seen recently is good clock management. The only disconcerting things was Cairo Santos missing 2 point after attempts. David Montgomery averaged 1.5 yards per carry. I don’t how much longer he can be the featured back.

The defense was pretty good in the first half. San Francisco had good field position throughout the first half and the Bears held them to seven points. They staved off disaster causing a fumble at their 10 yard line. The 49ers moved the ball but couldn’t put up any points. It was nice to see the Bears make defense adjustments as well. They starting putting pressure on QB Trey Lance and disguised there defense to confuse the second year QB. This led to a fourth quarter interception by Eddie Jackson, his first since 2019. His return set up the offense for their final score. The defense and poor field conditions shut out the 49ers after the early third period field goal.

This should be a good boost for the Bears. It will take a while to see if they might be better than most thought. Their next game is prime time Sunday in Green Bay against the Packers. The Bears usually embarrass themselves in front of national audiences. The Packers will be seeing red or should I say loaded for bear after getting crushed by Minnesota in their opener.