CHICAGO (670 The Score) -- Bears rookie punter Trenton Gill learned an NFL rule Sunday in his first career game.
With 32 seconds remaining in the second quarter as the Bears trailed 7-0 against the 49ers at Soldier Field, Gill was penalized for unsportsmanlike conduct for bringing a towel onto the field and wiping the spot of the hold as Chicago lined up for a 47-yard field-goal attempt. The 15-yard penalty pushed the Bears out of field-goal range.
Gill used the towel while setting up to hold the snap on a really rainy day at Soldier Field, where the sod was soaked. Instead, Gill was forced to punt the football away after the penalty and the Bears went into halftime still trailing 7-0 to the 49ers.
“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.
The Bears rallied in the second half to earn a 19-10 win.
Chris Emma covers the Bears, Chicago’s sports scene and more for 670TheScore.com. Follow him on Twitter @CEmma670.
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