(670 The Score) Before the tidal wave of enthusiasm fully hit Chicago on Sunday, the Bears practiced their body surfing in the north end zone of Soldier Field.
A group of them sprinted there as the final seconds expired in their 19-10 shocker over the 49ers and happily dove headfirst into the puddles like a bunch of kids celebrating a special occasion. And for so many Bears, it was exactly that – the first victory for coach Matt Eberflus and the last laugh for players after an offseason in which they were considered among the worst teams in the NFL.
“We talked about it right before we took the last knee and all the guys were excited to run to the end zone,’’ said Bears quarterback Justin Fields, whose belly slide showed the best form. “That was a snapshot moment for sure."
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It wasn’t the indelible image many anticipated.
But the day did make quite a splash.
Purists preaching sportsmanship might have scoffed at the sight of grown men turning a football field into their own backyard Slip 'N Slide, but before you urge the Bears to act like they’ve been there before, consider how many of them haven’t. Consider how truly unexpected and unplanned this all was, for a group with such low expectations to rally from a 10-point deficit to beat a team with legitimate Super Bowl aspirations. Thousands might have walked through the gates expecting to hear chants by the end of the game -- but probably not, “LET’S GO BEARS,” the chorus that greeted players as they joyfully jogged through the tunnel.
“I’m not surprised," Eberflus said, representing the minority opinion. “I thought the guys executed. I thought 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 of the time it comes down to the end just like that. That’s the way the NFL is."
True, but this was no typical Sunday along the lakefront.
Natural factors conspired to make the game as memorable as it was improbable. By the end of the fourth quarter, rain fell hard enough that the puddles the grounds crew needed squeegees to eliminate pregame had returned. It was a scene more fitting for ducks than Bears. The final couple series looked unplayable and potentially dangerous, not that anybody still in the stadium was complaining. And even though the elements strengthened the argument for a fixed roof at the proposed new stadium in Arlington Heights — the concept the Bears unveiled last week — there will be those who always will add this victory to the thick file of “Bears Weather," myth be damned.
For that reason, it’s OK to wonder how fluky beating a likely NFC playoff team is. Not that anybody at Halas Hall will care about having to defend a Week 1 outcome only those with blind optimism saw coming – especially after a first half that appeared to prove how hard the Bears were committed to reminding us this was the season opener.
Not until 2 minutes, 54 seconds remained in the second quarter did the Bears offense cross midfield.
Yet the Bears did something seldom seen in recent seasons. They used halftime to their advantage, adjusting and adapting after managing just 19 passing yards in the first two quarters. They played smart and disciplined throughout the entire game, committing only three penalties compared to 12 for the veteran 49ers. The Bears persisted and eventually persevered, validating all the rigorous practices and renewed emphasis on conditioning introduced by Eberflus. On the day he was hired, Eberflus advised Bears players to get their track shoes, and eight months later, they looked like a team convinced they were going places.
The Bears have even started repeating phrases that first came out of Eberflus’ mouth, such as when Fields revealed what he thought the difference was.
“Who can play the longest and the hardest?" Fields said. “We won this game with mental and physical stamina."
Minutes earlier, Eberflus had uttered the same sentence into the same microphone.
This was a three-hour infomercial for the HITS principle, evidence of coaching seen in the reduced number of penalties and dumb mistakes, an example of what happens when the coachiest of football coaches gets complete and total buy-in from a bunch of players with much to prove in the NFL – remember that the Bears have 33 newcomers on the roster, including 15 rookies. This was an ode to old-fashioned football, when effort and intensity mattered as much as skill and scheme, where you could find an attentive audience in the locker room and huddle. This was bad weather and occasionally even worse football but a beautiful sight to behold for every Bears fan who has waited far too long to feel this good about something.
As Eberflus announced back in January, the way Lovie Smith once did back in 2004, everything starts with takeaways. As if to drive that point home on the first defensive series of the season, cornerback Jaylon Johnson perfectly executed the “Peanut Punch," with Charles Tillman in attendance, and Deebo Samuel fumbled at the Bears’ 12-yard line. Jaquan Brisker recovered to deprive the 49ers of points. An even bigger turnover came later, with 9:52 left in the fourth quarter and the Bears clinging to a 13-10 lead, as safety Eddie Jackson read 49ers quarterback Trey Lance’s eyes perfectly and picked off a short pass across the middle at the San Francisco 47-yard line. It was Jackson’s first interception since Dec. 29, 2019 – three defensive coordinators ago.
That allowed the Bears to win the telling turnover battle 2-1 and set up the game-clinching touchdown five plays later when Khalil Herbert scored on a three-yard run. That’s called complementary football, which the Bears needed on a day their offense managed a measly 204 total yards.
Fields ended up enjoying a better day than Lance, but both second-year quarterbacks taken in the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft struggled, probably due to a combination of inexperience and the elements. Lance was 13-of-28 for 164 yards with an interception and a 50.3 passing rating while also leading the 49ers in rushing with 54 yards on 13 carries. He used his athleticism to elude the pass rush, yet Bears rookie fifth-round pick Dominique Robinson, an impressive athlete himself, contributed 1.5 sacks in a dazzling debut. Fields gradually appeared more polished as the game progressed, going 8-of-17 for 121 yards, two touchdowns and an interception with an 85.7 passer rating. 49ers safety Talanoa Hufanga's pick illustrated how Fields tends to zero in on his primary target too often, but Fields' 51-yard touchdown pass to Dante Pettis underscored how dangerous he is when plays break down.
Fields escaped two pass rushers, spun right and threw across his body downfield to Pettis, who was all alone after doing what every smart receiver does during a scramble drill. Pettis simply waited on the pass like his dad, former MLB outfielder Gary, used to wait on flyballs and made the catch-and-run untouched into the end zone.
“I lofted it up just to make sure he could catch the ball," Fields said. “That was the kind of the play that changed the momentum of the whole game."
Work remains. The Bears offensive line – which saw starter Teven Jenkins and injured veteran Lucas Patrick rotate at right guard – gave up two sacks and failed the move the pile consistently in the running game, which managed 99 yards on 37 carries. The best offensive sequence to build off of came after Pettis’ touchdown when the Bears staged a 10-play, 84-yard drive that culminated with Fields finding Equanimeous St. Brown in the end zone for the go-ahead touchdown, an 18-yard pass with 12:45 left.
If that was the play that gave the Bears the most comfort, the one that created the most confusion came at the end of the first half. On fourth down from the San Francisco 29-yard line, as Chicago prepared for a 46-yard field-goal attempt, rookie punter and holder Trenton Gill was flagged or unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. The reason? Rules state that players can't bring a “foreign object” to alter the playing surface, and Gill had used a towel to wipe down the area where he planned to spot the ball.
We expected to see fewer flags under Eberflus, but nobody said anything about towels. In the Fox broadcast booth, Daryl Johnston said he never had seen such a call in 10 years as an NFL player and 20 as an analyst, so assigning blame seems unfair, though Mother Nature and the Chicago Park District can divvy up responsibility.
“If he used it to wipe his hands and had thrown it away, we would have been OK with it, (but) to put it on the ground and alter the playing surface where we were going to spot the ball, that’s why we called a penalty,” referee Clay Martin told a pool reporter postgame.
Eberflus accepted the explanation and was also giddy in the aftermath of his first victory as an NFL head coach at the age of 52. Not that he sounded even close to getting too carried away starting 1-0, planning to celebrate quietly with his family and already looking forward to practice Wednesday, when players can fine-tune their fundamentals on the field.
“There’s only one way to get better is by learning," Eberflus said.
He learned that from mentors such as Gary Pinkel, whom Eberflus played for at Toledo and coached under at Missouri. After Eberflus left the podium, Pinkel was waiting for him by the door with the kind of hug reserved for moments as special as this one.
Just don’t let Eberflus hear you call it a surprise.
David Haugh is the co-host of the Mully & Haugh Show from 5-10 a.m. weekdays on 670 The Score. Click here to listen. Follow him on Twitter @DavidHaugh.
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