The Good, the Bad and the Ugly: 5 Takeaways from Week 1

The first week of the NFL was bizarre. Still, the 49ers embarrassed themselves with a so-called " Super Bowl caliber" roster.

The 49ers escaped a scorching heat wave in San Francisco this past weekend, but their mistakes on Sunday were as severe as the rain in Chicago. Here are the five takeaways from their 19-10 loss.

Patience, Patience, Patience

Trey Lance was what you would have expected after seeing his offseason work. Lance was great, erratic and hopeful as a prospect during different periods of the game. He threw long passes that were missing from the 49ers attack the past few seasons, but was indecisive and inconsistent in the short passing game. The loss does not fall on the shoulders of the young quarterback, and yet he could have done better. His overthrown would-be touchdown pass to Tyler Kroft was a turning point in the game.

Lance will have an up-and-down season as a quarterback, but that's all part of his development.

Where is the run game?

Elijah Mitchell went down with a sprained MCL that marked the end of the 49ers effective rushing attack. Jeff Wilson tried hard without much success. At the latter part of the game, Bears running backs were more potent than the 49ers backs, who were expected to take their run game to the next level with a dual-threat quarterback.

Mitchell will miss the next two months, so now the 49ers now must find a new starting running back.

Deebo is still a wide-back

There was speculation that Deebo Samuel wanted to be a true wide receiver instead of being a wide-back, which put him in more harm's way. During the game on Sunday, Kyle Shanahan used Samuel in the same way as last season, indicating the team will depend on Samuel a lot.

Kittle is missing time again.

George Kittle is the second-highest-paid tight end in football, but he has missed games the past two seasons. The 49ers need Kittle on the field to help their run game, because the offensive line struggled to block on Sunday.

The team desperately needs Kittle to be healthy as the season progresses. The schedule is demanding compared to last year, and missing critical pieces of the offense for too long might make the team reevaluate the strategy for the tight end position.

Penalties are the way of life.

It should be a slogan for the team. In 2021, the 49ers gave up the third-most penalty yards in the NFL, plus notoriously led the league in defensive pass interference penalties at one point. During Week 8, they had to practice basic coverage drills to avoid giving away pass interference penalties.

Chicago extended multiple drives that finished in touchdowns thanks to avoidable penalties given away by the 49ers. When the Bears struggled to find their rhythm, the 49ers created ways to bail them out.

You can pin the loss on the blown coverages by the defense, but Chicago scored just 19 points. The entire team collectively contributed to the loss, and next week's affair against the Seahawks is a must-win.