NEWSLETTER
If the Chicago Bears go on to have the type of success that was envisioned when Ryan Poles and Matt Eberflus were hired in January, this is the game we’ll fondly remember the one that turned the tide.
And this will go down as The Moment when things began turning around:
We don’t know what the future holds. But the present feels really good. After an offseason of getting bludgeoned by predictions of the worst (as we discussed in Bullets), we deserved this as fans. I wasn’t sure we were getting it after the first half, but I guess that’s why they play four quarters and not just two.
The Bears put up 19 second-half points and held the 49ers to just three points after halftime to pull off a 19-10 win in the regular-season opener. And it wasn’t just a win. It was a come-from-behind win. Featuring second-half adjustments, which hadn’t been a thing around here for some time. And a resiliency that I forgot existed in teams after watching how the Bears played out the string last year. That first half was ugly. And we’ll dissect it later. It’s just that this win was too fun to spend too much postgame time in the immediate aftermath to dive into it.
This wasn’t just a regular season-opening win. Oh, no. This should be a confidence-builder. How many times did the FOX broadcast make mention of the Niners being a championship caliber team? They sure didn’t look it. You can blame the weather conditions for the sloppiness. But you can’t blame 12 penalties going for 99 yards on the weather.
Watching the Bears beat a team that knocked Aaron Rodgers out of the playoffs last year and began this season with championship aspirations feels good as heck.
And you can thank the Holy Trinity of Bears Football for that:
Good defense turning into offense. The Bears had the “D” in spades. Niners QB Trey Lance completed just 46.4% of his passes, averaged only 5.9 yards per attempt, threw more interceptions (1) than touchdowns (0), and put up a 50.3 passer rating. Chicago’s defense came up with 2 sacks, 4 quarterback hits, 4 tackles-for-loss, and 4 pass breakups. It also forced a fumble, interception, and two turnovers on downs.
This is the type of football we come to expect from the Bears, no matter what year the calendar says we’re in. Death. Taxes. And a defense that can unexpectedly win games.
Solid rushing attack? The Bears had it (at times). The Justin Fields rushing show (11 carries, 28 yards) had its moments. And while David Montgomery led the way with 17 carries, Khalil Herbert was the team’s most efficient rusher. Herbert’s 45 yards on 9 carries was far more effective than the 26 yards Montgomery needed 17 carries to reach. I don’t think there is a ground game controversy just yet, but Herbert’s performance might lead to a boost in playing time. Perhaps we’ll see Offensive Coordinator Luke Getsy deploy a timeshare that looks something like the Aaron Jones-A.J. Dillon split in Green Bay. More to come here.
Bad weather as your best friend? That’s soooo Bears. And when people talk about weather being a home-field advantage, this is what they’re talking about:
Imagine wanting to leave for the suburbs after a win that can happen only at Soldier Field.
To be clear, I don’t know if a domed environment would’ve led to a different result. But I’m certain the weather had an impact on this game. And the Bears were the beneficiaries. I’m not complaining. Just sharing a few thoughts. I might bake a local weatherman some cookies for their contributions today. Hey, Matt Eberflus said it was a team effort.
Sure, both teams were playing on the same field. Both teams were dealing with slick balls and a swampy surface. But it was the Bears taking advantage of the elements. They were better with ball security. And they were more disciplined, too. The new Soldier Field turf might as well have been a slip-n-slide. But it wasn’t the Bears sliding into late-hit penalties. That was the 49ers. And it cost them.
In the end, if you were to ask me before the game to imagine what a Bears win against the 49ers would look like, I would’ve imagined something like what we saw today. A tried and true formula of flustering a rookie QB, turning his mistakes into points, and running the ball efficiently enough to escape with a victory. No, it wasn’t perfect. And it sure wasn’t pretty. But ugly wins count in the standings as much as the beautiful ones. I’d argue that winning ugly should come with bonus points. But that’s a discussion for another day.
For now, we enjoys a moment that was 252 days in the making. It had been 252 days since the Bears lat won a game. Here’s hoping we’re not waiting that long for the next one.
