49ers @ Bears Week 1 Live Blog
CHICAGO -- This is the live blog for the San Francisco 49ers' Week 1 road game against the Chicago Bears. I will update this frequently with information and analysis from the press box.
9:50 It's already pouring. The ground's crew is taking the tarp off the grass right now, which means it will get soaked for the next two hours. Footing should be awful during the game -- expect lots of slips, plus lots of drops. This seems like the kind of game that could feature lots of fumbles and turnovers and blocked punts and kicks. We'll see which team is more prepared for this weather.
9:55 George Kittle will not play in this game, and I'm humbly predicting he won't play next week, either. I'm guessing the 49ers would like Kittle to make a full recovery before he returns to action, because they can't afford him to reinjure his groin, make it even worse and miss more time. So if they beat the Bears and start the season 1-0, they'll have no urgency to play Kittle next week against the Seahawks, who are even worse than the Bears. But if somehow the 49ers lose this game and start the season 0-1, perhaps the 49ers would feel pressure to play Kittle next week just to make sure they don't start 0-2. But we'll cross that bridge when we get to it. I expect the 49ers will win 16-10 today in a grim game full of mistakes and three and outs.
10:42 Here are the 49ers' inactives:
TE George Kittle
RB Ty Davis-Price
OL Daniel Brunskill
WR Danny Gray
DL Jordan Willis
OL Nick Zakelj
QB Brock Purdy
It's interesting that Jordan Mason is active and Davis-Price is not. This is two years in a row the 49ers' rookie third-round-pick running back has been inactive Week 1. Maybe the 49ers should stop spending third-round picks on running backs.
It's also interesting that follow rookie third-round pick Danny Gray is inactive, and veteran practice squad wide receiver Malik Turner is active. I'm guessing Turner is better on special teams than Gray, and the 49ers don't plan to throw deep in the rain, which makes Gray not useful.
9:57 The ground's crew is attempting to sweep the water off the field with brooms. An extremely high-tech solution.
10:02 The 49ers win the toss and defer. The Bears will get the ball first.
FIRST QUARTER
10:04 The Bears opening drive starts at their 23.
10:06 On 3rd and 7 from the Bears 26, Samson Ebukam sacks Justin Fields for a loss of 10, and the Bears go 3 and out. After the punt, the 49ers take over at their 43.
10:11 On 1st and 10 from the Bears 16, Trey Lance hands off to Deebo Samuel, who fumbles, and the Bears recover. That happened one play after Lance hit Brandon Aiyuk for a gain of 31. Kyle Shanahan got cute on that opening drive and called runs for wide receivers and Lance, but none for the running backs.
10:22 On 3rd and 7 from the Bears 35, Justin Fields throws a perfect spiral directly to Talanoa Hufanga, who picks him off. The 49ers take over at the Bears 48.
10:28 On 3rd and 7 from the Bears 29, Dominique Robinson beats Mike McGlinchey to the inside and sacks Lance for a loss of six, which knocks the 49ers out of field goal range. Elijah Mitchell carried the ball for 16 yards on the first play of the drive and never touched the ball again.
10:29 The 49ers punt. Dante Pettis makes a fair catch at the Chicago 8.
10:39 On 3rd and 8 from the Bears 32, Nick Bosa sacks Justin Fields, who just stood there and took it. After the punt, the 49ers take over at their 36.
10:43 On 3rd and 3 from the 49ers 43, Lance steps up to avoid pressure and throws behind Jauan Jennings over the middle. Jeff Wilson Jr. was open in the flat. The 49ers punt and tackle Dante Pettis at the Chicago 5.
SECOND QUARTER
10:48 The Bears run three times, gain one yard and go 3 and out. Unreal. Ray-Ray McCloud returns the punt 16 yards to the SF 48.
10:56 On 2nd and goal from the 6, Deebo Samuel runs around the right end for a touchdown. The best play on this drive was a 20-yard dime from Lance to McCloud between three defenders on 2nd and 4 from the Chicago 46. Kyle Shanahan called six runs and one play-action pass on that drive. He's starting to find his groove.
49ers 7, Bears 0.
11:02 On 3rd and 12 from the Bears 23, Fields throws a screen pass that gains five yards, and the Bears punt. This game feels over already. After the punt, the 49ers take over at their 24.
11:10 On 3rd and 9 from the 49ers 35, Lance throws a short pass to Jeff Wilson Jr. for six yards, and the 49ers punt a 35-yard punt. Horrible. Previously in the drive, Lance converted a 3rd and 13 with a 13-yard QB draw. He also converted a 3rd and 3 with a perfect pass to Brandon Aiyuk, but Aiyuk was flagged for pushing off.
11:15 Trey Lance is doing an excellent job so far. He had one miss on the high throw to the tight end, and Lance knew he missed it. But overall, he's in command of the offense and the game is not too big for him.
11:15 Elijah Mitchell has a knee injury and is out for the game. Next men up: Jeff Wilson Jr. and Jeff Mason.
11:24 On 3rd and 6 from the 49ers 29, Justin Fields throws deep to Byron Pringle, but Charvarius Ward has excellent coverage and the pass is incomplete. Then the Bears commit an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty by trying to wipe down the field before the field goal, and that's a 15-yard penalty which knocks them out of range. So now they punt. Good going rookie head coach Matt Eberflus. After the punt, the 49ers get the ball at their 9 with 25 seconds left.
11:35 On 3rd and 3 from the 49ers 43 with a few seconds left, Lance throws a one-hopper to Samuel and the first half ends. The 49ers will get the ball to start the second half
THIRD QUARTER
11:43 The 49ers will start this drive from their 25 after a touchback.
11:51 On 3rd and goal from the 4, Lance takes a coverage sack. Then Robbie Gould makes a 25-yard field goal. The best play on the drive waas a 44-yard pass up the left sideline to Jauan Jennings on 3rd and 6. Great play call by Shanahan. Now he needs to give Jordan Mason some carries. Wilson Jr. has just 13 rushing yards on 6 carries.
49ers 10, Bears 0.
12:00 On 3rd and 10 from the Bears 49, Fields scrambles and extends the play until he finds a wide open Dante Pettis and hits him for a long touchdown pass. Attrocious defense. The play before, Tashaun Gipson dropped an interception. That drive happened because Dre Greenlaw committed a facemask penalty on a run for no gain on 3rd and 4. Not a smart play, and it was Greenlaw's second 15-yard penalty of the game.
49ers 10, Bears 7.
12:08 On 3rd and 9 from the 49ers 33, Lance scrambles for 7 yards, then the 49ers punt. Ther Bears take over at their 16. Suddenly this is a game simply because of one busted play by the 49ers defense.
FOURTH QUARTER
12:22 On 3rd and 2 from the 49ers 18, Fields throws a touchdown pass to a wide open Equanimeous St. Brown. The Bears miss the extra point. The first play of the drive was a 22-yard completion as the result of another busted coverage. Plus the 49ers committed two defensive penalties on the drive. The defense is falling apart.
49ers 10, Bears 13.
12:24 Azeez Al-Shaair is being evaluated for a concussion.
12:29 The Bears are horrible on their own, but the 49ers defense has put them in the driver's seat with two busted-coverage touchdown catches and multiple defensive penalties that extended drives.
12:35 On 3rd and 5 from the 49ers 41, Lance throws a slant to Jennings and gets intercepted by Eddie Jackson. The Bears were sitting on that throw. They take over at the 49ers 21.
12:38 On 2nd and 11 from the 49ers 12, Javon Kinlaw commits a defensive holding penalty. Next play, Elijah Mitchell walks into the end zone from three yards out. The Bears miss the extra point again though with 7:21 left.
49ers 10, Bears 19.
12:53 On 4th and 8 from the 49ers 46, Lance sails a pass out of bounds. They're playing in a monsoon.
12:56 The Bears run three times and punt. The 49ers get the ball back at their 20 with 2:29 and no timeouts left.
1:02 The 49ers turn the ball over on downs and lose 19-10. Stay tuned for their grades.
