The San Francisco 49ers took an ugly 19-10 loss against the Chicago Bears on Sunday afternoon while attempting to navigate through horrendously ugly field conditions at Soldier Field, thanks to seemingly endless sheets of rain. Quite naturally, everyone already has their digital knives sharpened up and ready to place all the blame on the shoulders of first-year starting quarterback Trey Lance. For 49ers fans, Week 2 can’t come soon enough.
But before we get to what went wrong in a game San Francisco led 7-0 at the half and 10-7 through three quarters, let’s take a look at Lance’s stat line.
- Trey Lance stats (Week 1): 13-of-28 passing, 164 yards, 0 TD, 1 INT; 13 carries for 54 yards
Not exactly the type of numbers that would inspire fans or anyone in the Niners organization to pump their fists or attempt leaping chest bumps. The noted interception to Eddie Jackson was especially terrible. But the loss was hardly Lance’s fault.
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12 penalties for 99 yards is a major concern for the San Francisco 49ers
Having your defense step up to get key third-down stops, only to be negated by careless penalties that would inevitably lead to a pair of Bears touchdowns simply does not get more deflating. Hell, the beast known as Nick Bosa flat-out said it himself.
Head coach Kyle Shanahan accentuated that very point, noting how crucial the timing of those “stupid” penalties were. To be honest, calling them stupid was being pretty kind.
Related: San Francisco 49ers standing in NFL’s Week 1 power rankings
Poor offensive line play that got worse as the game went on is hardly Trey Lance’s fault
As previously noted, Lance was sacked twice but he also ran 13 times, some of which were not exactly planned. While having a dual-threat quarterback has nearly become a necessity rather than a luxury these days, having your first-year starter running for his life in key spots more often than not won’t translate to winning football any time soon.
The man needs time and he also needs sunshine before the hot takes start flying like wild geese from every direction. That was obvious following San Francisco’s ugly Week 1 loss.
Related: Rain-soaked Chicago Bears score final 19 points to sink San Francisco 49ers
Elijah Mitchell’s injury was a crushing blow especially given the weather conditions
Before Elijah Mitchell got injured in the second quarter, he was cruising along nicely with 41 yards on six carries. Losing your key cog in the wheel of the ground game so early on while playing in what looked like a monsoon was less than ideal. Mitchell’s quick absence only put more pressure on Lance to deliver in the passing game when actually delivering in the passing game was next to impossible. If you watched even five minutes of this game, you know how much truth there is to that statement.
Glass half full? The San Francisco 49ers play host to the Seattle Seahawks next week and the forecast is set for 72 degrees and partly cloudy. That’s where the true measuring stick should and will begin. Fans need to throw this loss in the trash and block out the predictable nonsense from everyone who thrives on making loud noises for the sake of making loud noises.
And seriously, Trey Lance as the starting quarterback is an ‘experiment? And one more bad start he’ll get the hook?!? My goodness, for the love of logic and in the interest of making sense, Jason LaCanfora, sometimes it’s more than OK not to tweet.