The Chicago Bears hosted the San Francisco 49ers in the first game between Justin Fields and Trey Lance, the third and fourth quarterbacks taken in the 2021 NFL draft. There appears to be a mini-rivalry brewing between the two, with Fields taking the first matchup.
Chicago players let the media know that the 49ers would regret passing up on Fields. It’s very early in both players’ careers, but getting that come-from-behind win in those awful field conditions is a good start to show that.
Here’s everything we know about Chicago’s Week 1 upset win over San Francisco.
Final Score: Bears 19, 49ers 10
Keys to the Game
Field Conditions: Going into Week 1, Soldier Field has been the topic of conversation. Whether the Bears are moving to Arlington Heights or not has been big, but the worry of how bad the field conditions are in Chicago has made some worried. Of course, as expected, the conditions were awful. The Bermuda Grass could have done more harm as the field was a puddle.
Lance vs Fields, I: Who’s going to be better, Trey Lance or Justin Fields? With Lance being drafted before Fields, there has been a mini-rivalry built between the two players. Chicago fans believe the 49ers passed up on an amazing quarterback and they will pay, while the 49ers seem very confident in their draft selection. If they two find success, maybe we will see the two teams match up against each other in the playoffs a few times in their career. But Fields got the best of Lance in the first matchup.
Matt Eberflus’ Debut: No more Matt Nagy means no more excuses. Nagy has been pinned as the reason why Mitchell Trubisky didn’t work for the Bears – along with the rookie struggles of Justin Fields. Now, Chicago has a new head coach in Matt Eberflus and an entirely new offensive scheme built around Fields. Outside of the excitement for their second-year quarterback, Chicago fans are excited to see a new era of football — the Eberflus era, and wheat a great way to start with a 19-10 win.
It was over when...
It was over when Khalil Herbert scored his first rushing touchdown of the season, to make the game 19-10. This touchdown came off of the back of Eddie Jackson, who intercepted Trey Lance late in the fourth quarter.
Herbert’s touchdown drive consisted of five plays for 18 yards, with Chicago holding the ball for 2 minutes, 21 seconds.
3 Stars of the Game
*Justin Fields: The quarterback the 49ers passed up on in the 2021 NFL draft takes round one against Trey Lance. Despite the poor field conditions and trailing 10 in the second half, Fields turned things around, en route to a nine-point victory. A 47.1% completion isn’t great, but Fields made the big plays when it mattered.
**Eddie Jackson: Quick-six, dubbed by Jeff Joniak, is back. Eddie Jackson had his first interception since 2019, something fans saw many of in his first couple of seasons with the team. Jackson played well today, but that interception when Chicago was up three helped seal the win.
***Khalil Herbert: Khalil Herbert played well today, rushing for 45 yards on nine carries with one touchdown. He kept a good balance in the run game, alongside David Montgomery, to help control the ball with these awful field conditions. Both running backs deserve credit, but Herbert had the better game.
What's next
The Bears will travel to Green Bay next week for their first prime-time game of the 2022 season. This will be Justin Fields’ third game against the Packers. Can he pull off his first win? We’ll see next Sunday night at Lambeau Field.
