You can point to the penalties. You can point to the bad weather. But when it comes down to it, the 49ers’ inability to put more than 7 points on the board in the first half came back to haunt them in the second half in Sunday’s season opener against the Chicago Bears.
All offseason, the hype has been building around the 49ers defense. The first half, it showed, as the Bears were shut out and racked up just 68 total yards. Though San Francisco had the game by the you-know-whats, they only held a 7-0 lead because the offense couldn’t get anything going.
The Niners went silent in the second half as the Bears rallied for a 19-10 victory, in an embarrassing defeat for San Francisco and coach Kyle Shanahan.
“We felt very in control,” Shanahan said. “I thought we had every chance to run away with it in the first three quarters.”
It’d be harsh to say Trey Lance failed his first NFL test, but he surely didn’t get a passing grade. The second-year quarterback finished 13-of-28 for 164 yards, no touchdowns and an interception. Lance was able to use his legs and keep drives alive, racking up 54 yards on 13 carries, but was largely inconsistent with his throws. While he dropped a couple dimes, Lance had missed wide, high and low on Sunday. Perhaps his biggest incompletion came in the second quarter, when he sailed one over a wide-open Tyler Kroft for what could have been a 32-yard score.
After the game, Lance was his harshest critic and rattled off where he went wrong.
"I made too many mistakes," Lance said. "Defense kept us in the game. Had a big miss to Tyler Kroft in the end zone. Tried to throw a perfect ball. I shoulda tried to put it right on him, he was wide open. Turned the ball over, took a sack that took us out of field goal range. I shouldn't have missed Deebo on the third down. Missed another third down to Jauan (Jennings). Just too many mistakes. Lots of stuff to clean up for sure, for me. But excited. Still got my head up."
Veteran All-Pro tackle Trent Williams heard Lance's comments before addressing reporters Sunday and said he was impressed with the youngster's moxie.
"That's why they handed him keys to the organization," Williams said. "He's a mature dude, great teammate. That doesn't surprise us. That's why he's here."
Obviously, 49ers fans don't wanna see a defeat. But Lance took the 'L' on the chin and handled it about as good as you'd like for the 22-year-old. Williams added that Lance stayed cool under pressure in the huddle during his first start as undisputed QB1 after taking over for Jimmy Garoppolo.
"He was good. He was laid back," Williams said. "Even when it was pouring down rain and it was a two-score game, we had to make something, had to click, he didn't waver at all. He stayed calm, cool and collected."
The blame can go around. Deebo Samuel fumbled the ball deep in Bears territory in the first half. The Niners racked up 12 penalties for 99 yards. Tackles Mike McGlinchey and even Williams were beat by their men for sacks in key situations. Then the lid came off the 49ers defense in the second half while the offense got shut out in a torrential downpour.
“Not to take anything away from them, but I’m disappointed about some of the silly mistakes we did to ourself,” Shanahan said. “Not just young guys. There’s veterans out there that have done a lot of good things for us.”
The timing of the penalties couldn’t have been worse, as Chicago’s first two touchdown drives were aided by third-down flags on the Niners that extended the drives. First came Dre Greenlaw’s 15-yard facemask on a 3rd-and-4, then Azeez Al-Shaair got dinged for a helmet-to-helmet hit on Bears quarterback Justin Fields.
Both of those touchdowns also came on busted coverages, as Dante Pettis was open for his 51-yard revenge score and the secondary got sucked in on Equanimeous St. Brown’s 18-yard touchdown. On the Bears' final touchdown drive in the fourth quarter, Javon Kinlaw's holding penalty set Chicago up with a first and goal from the 3-yard line.
Just a reminder that preseason hype isn’t worth a dime.
The 49ers entered as 6.5-point favorites, as many anointed them as Super Bowl contenders entering the season. Sunday’s performance doesn’t give much credence to those thoughts.
George Kittle’s absence certainly hurt the 49ers, as did losing running back Elijah Mitchell in the first half due to a knee injury. But given the perceived gulf in talent between the supposedly stacked 49ers and lowly Bears, this result wasn’t expected.
So, it’s back to the drawing board for Lance and the 49ers, who will host the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday for Week 2.
