It’s only mid-September, but Mother Nature didn’t take long to make its voice heard during the opening Sunday of the NFL season. In advance of the Bears and 49ers’ (-6.5) matchup at Soldier Field, a huge rainstorm positively walloped the Chicagoland area with a downpour.
Soldier Field’s consistently poor turf conditions — rain or shine — have been well-documented. Some newer Bears weren’t even sure the stadium looked respectable until they saw it in person. Throw in some heavy rain that seemingly looked overwhelming for both the grounds crew and the players at the same time, and you have a mix ripe for plenty of chaos:
It is POURING in Chicago 👀 pic.twitter.com/5p3Ctxy7cF
— 49ers on NBCS (@NBCS49ers) September 11, 2022
Another example of what the rain might force upon both teams was how San Francisco players were seemingly hopping around the water during warm-ups:
Take a look at 49ers warmups— pic.twitter.com/nRiznr9z4u
— Jason Lieser (@JasonLieser) September 11, 2022
Honestly, it looks terrible to run in, but a lot of fun somehow?
Then there was 49ers star Nick Bosa walking out of the Soldier Field tunnel before turning back once he saw the rain:
Nick Bosa saw the rain and immediately turned around 😂 pic.twitter.com/IkVMXekUMc
— 49ers on NBCS (@NBCS49ers) September 11, 2022
“Nope, nope, nope,” Bosa, probably.
One thing’s for sure, those hoping for a passing duel in Chicago will probably have to wait. Bears-49ers might have just become a good old-fashioned run-the-ball slugfest by default.
NFL fans thought Soldier's puddly rainstorm conditions were positively wild
Well that’s not ideal 😳 https://t.co/tB7yD6s9UK
— Laura Rutledge (@LauraRutledge) September 11, 2022
This is WILD. https://t.co/9Xn31CwWfi
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) September 11, 2022
I'll take Trey Lance in the 100m butterfly https://t.co/4yZ2P3kiKL
— #AskFFT (@daverichard) September 11, 2022
Holy crap https://t.co/yk7qb8sEOb
— Derek Wagner (@djwagss) September 11, 2022
No way this should be played on https://t.co/iA54bq0c1s
— Christian Benford Fan Account (17-0) (@JA17MVP) September 11, 2022
I put the 1h and full game under into the @ActionApp before the number moved for you guys. Hopefully you caught it https://t.co/QEllrpja2F
— Raheem Palmer (@iamrahstradamus) September 11, 2022
niners wearing white today. by half-time they'll look like they're in a gritty BW movie about a 1950s midwestern college football team https://t.co/OVRtZ3vUsB
— Better Call Non (@YR195) September 11, 2022
Why don’t think ship in some of that special grass from Palm Beach https://t.co/APk2TY8ly0
— Joe Schad (@schadjoe) September 11, 2022
Welp really hoping there’s no injuries… https://t.co/u6BZaTICpq
— Diandra Loux (@Diandra_loux) September 11, 2022
Might as well play in a swimming pool. #SFvsCHI https://t.co/TeGnrLhsAk
— Zig Fracassi (@ZigSportsVoice) September 11, 2022
