A new era of Chicago Bears football began on Sunday as the team kicked off the 2022 NFL season with a new regime in place against the San Francisco 49ers. Head coach Matt Eberflus made his regular-season debut and braved the elements at Soldier Field. Torrential downpours made conditions tough for both teams, but it was the Bears who were able to overcome them when it was all said and done.
After a sluggish first half with no points and very little offensive production that resulted in a 7-0 lead for the 49ers, things began to turn around. With key adjustments by the offensive staff, quarterback Justin Fields settled into a groove and the Bears scored 19 unanswered points to defeat win 19-10.
It was an ugly win for an ugly game, but thanks to timely offense and clutch defense, they got the job done and start the year off 1-0. Here are our takeaways from the game.
1. Justin Fields outplayed Trey Lance when it mattered most
One of the major storylines heading into week one was the matchup between Fields and his fellow draft classmate Trey Lance. Both players entered their second season as the starter with chips on their shoulder. Fields is out to show he’s capable of having success with the Bears after his rookie growth was stunted by Matt Nagy. Lance, meanwhile, is the inexperienced quarterback with loads of talent, who just so happens to be taking over a team that made a deep playoff run last year. Oh, and the player he supplanted is now his understudy.
Both players needed a strong showing on Sunday and while neither of them lit the world on fire, it was Fields who stepped up when he needed to the most. Trailing 10-0, the Bears made key halftime adjustments (more on that in a bit) and Fields was able to find his groove to jumpstart the offense. He was hitting big throws with accuracy after struggling for much of the afternoon and the offense poured it on to stage a comeback.
Lance, meanwhile, began to crumble. There were a couple of clutch throws in the second half that should give 49ers fans reason for optimism, but he failed to bring his team back and threw a costly interception that sealed the deal for the Bears. These two will be compared for years to come after the 49ers moved up to select Lance over Fields and Bears fans know what that feels like. It’s nice to be on the right side of that argument, for the time being at least.
2. Luke Getsy's halftime adjustments were the difference in the game
When is the last time you remember the Bears making key halftime adjustments on offense that wound up winning them the game? It’s been at least over a season, but that’s what Getsy was able to do after studying the tape and realizing their gameplan against the 49ers front seven wasn’t working at all.
The Bears offense in the first half had shades of Fields’ first start against the Cleveland Browns last season. There was no creativity, no rhythm, and poor execution across the board. Fields had very little time in the pocket and it felt like we were on course for another historically poor showing. But Getsy did what the last coaching staff couldn’t, or wouldn’t, do and drew up plays in the locker room to show where they were being exploited.
According to ESPN’s Michele Steele and captured by Daniel Greenberg, Khalil Herbert said the coaches were visualizing what they needed to correct at halftime. Those corrections paid dividends and with proper execution, got the Bears to a victory late in the game.
Chicago Bears running back Khalil Herbert told @MicheleSteele on ESPN that the team made adjustments in the second half after the coaching staff came into the locker room at halftime and drew stuff on the board to correct. Khalil gave a lot of credit to the coaching staff.
— Daniel Greenberg (@ChiSportUpdates) September 12, 2022
It’s important to understand that the young players aren’t the only ones who need to learn. The coaches do, too. This was Getsy’s first time calling plays in a regular season game at the NFL level. He’s showing he’s capable of learning on the fly, which should mean great things are ahead for the offense.
3. The kids will be alright
Heading into the season, we knew Eberflus wasn’t afraid to play his younger players and thank goodness he wasn’t because we might be talking about an entirely different outcome. Rookies Jaquan Brisker and Dominique Robinson shined, especially when they needed to the most.
Brisker helped save a scoring drive right out of the gate when he recovered a fumble forced by Jaylon Johnson. He’s been around the ball all summer long and it’s carrying over into the regular season. He also made a key tackle for a loss on a redzone drive in the third quarter to prevent the 49ers from going up 14-0. Brisker had four solo tackles on the day in a solid debut.
Robinson, meanwhile, was blowing up the 49ers protection up front. He had 1.5 sacks, including one where he threw Lance down with one hand. Robinson was active all day and finished second on the team in tackles with seven, including one for a loss and two QB hits. The Bears as a whole had four tackles for loss, three coming from rookies.
Even Kyler Gordon and Bracton Jones had their moments. Most will remember Gordon’s debut for allowing a 40-yard completion to Jauan Jennings. Still, he finished the day with six tackles and was effective in run defense. For Jones, he allowed a sack to star pass rusher Nick Bosa, but was solid for much of the afternoon and held his own at a crucial position. His future is extremely bright. Sometimes the moment can be too big for rookies and those mistakes are bound to happen. But it’s a great start for general manager Ryan Poles’ inaugural rookie class.
4. Rotating Teven Jenkins and Lucas Patrick at guard wasn't a great idea
Throughout the week leading up to kickoff, questions surrounded the status of Lucas Patrick and where he might play, if at all, given his injury. Patrick was signed to be the team’s starting center in the offseason and had been working in that position all offseason long. But a thumb injury early in training camp shelved him for the entire month of August.
Patrick returned to practice but his status at center remained cloudy. The Bears decided to start Sam Mustipher instead and use Patrick as a guard. The problem was that he was rotating in and out with Teven Jenkins at right guard.
I understand the need to get Patrick some reps, seeing as he had been out for weeks. But why do it at the expense of Jenkins, who scratched and clawed his way to earn that starting spot? It seemed odd and it would have been better to give Jenkins the entire run and have Patrick available as a backup guard in case of injury. Swapping out linemen when trying to get an offensive rhythm down doesn’t seem conducive to success.
Thankfully, the offensive line found its footing in the second half and created scoring opportunities. But if Patrick can’t snap against his former team next week, either keep him on the bench or start him at guard. Don’t keep swapping players on the offensive line.
5. Cairo Santos' struggles aren't a concern...yet
One of the glaring issues on Sunday was Cairo Santos’ inability to convert extra points. Santos missed a pair of extra points during the Bears’ offensive onslaught that thankfully didn’t factor into the final outcome. Santos also took responsibility for an odd penalty in the first half that negated a field goal opportunity.
Punter Trenton Gill was penalized for trying to use a towel to dry off part of the field to hold the ball on an attempt. The penalty pushed the Bears out of field goal range, ending any hopes of getting points in the first half. Santos took the blame, however, saying it was his fault.
The field conditions played a significant role in Santos’ struggles, both when kicking the ball and trying to set up an attempt. We know the recent kicker woes that have plagued this team and Santos has done a phenomenal job of making sure those issues remain in the past. He’s a professional and has been steady during his second go-around with the Bears. Those struggles shouldn’t continue but kickers are a fickle breed so you never know.
6. The need for a dome was on full display Sunday
Honestly, the photos and videos of the players sliding into the Soldier Field endzone at the final whistle are incredible. It’s something you don’t see often and it brings fans a sense of joy and hope that this is a new beginning for this team. But while the photos are nice to look at, the heavy rainfall was just another clear example as to why the Bears should have an enclosed stadium in Arlington Heights.
The offense couldn’t move in the first half. It was like trying to run in your dreams. Pools of water were forming and it quickly became a mess. While that also slowed down the 49ers, it didn’t do much good in the first half when they had success moving the ball and the Bears didn’t. Give the Bears a climate-controlled atmosphere so they can actually develop an offense that doesn’t get stuck in the mud every other play.
The aesthetics of Sunday’s game are very cool and those images will last a lifetime. But seeing a Bears offense score more than 30 points consistently is a better photo and it’s hard to imagine that coming at Soldier Field in the elements.
7. Players have bought into Matt Eberflus' philosophies
It’s been a process for the Bears players to buy into what Eberflus has been preaching ever since he took over as the team’s head coach. Many acknowledged that it took some time, but Eberflus believes in the system that he’s brought with him and it has nothing to do with schemes, play design, or anything of that nature. It’s about discipline, playing smart football, and competing until the final whistle blows. Signs were there that the team was in on what Eberflus was saying, but now it’s evident following that victory.
Players after the game praised Eberflus for instilling the HITS principle. Roquan Smith told NFL Network’s Stacey Dales as much. “It was all on display today, the HITS principle. We were hitting, turnovers, playing smart. I think it was pretty sweet.”
Smart is the key word. Chicago Bears writer Larry Mayer points out that the offense didn’t commit a penalty and the defense had just one that ended up going for five yards. The 49ers, meanwhile, couldn’t get out of their own way. The offensive changes were key, but make no mistake, a comeback couldn’t have happened if not for the discipline from the entire team.
It’s only one game and players won’t always be happy-go-lucky when the losses come, but Eberflus’ philosophies have shown up in camp, preseason, and now the regular season.
