Ugly weather attributes to ugly win for Bears. Although many say there is no such thing as an ugly win. How about an ugly loss then, because San Francisco lost the game Sunday afternoon more then the Bears won it. Even so, there were positive things to take away from Sunday’s game. None more important then the W.
Eberflus’s debut
Eberflus’s hard-nosed coaching style is what won the game for the Bears on Sunday. A water logged Soldier Field made for a low scoring game which magnified penalties and turnovers. The Bears won both of those battles, especially penalties and that is thanks to coaching. The 49ers had 12 penalties for 99 yards while the Bears had only 3 penalties for 24 yards. Throw in the 2-1 win in the turnover battle and you can make up for a lot of poor play. That’s really what won the game for the Bears, dumb 49er penalties. Eberflus also showed the ability to close the game out. Something his predecessor struggled to do. So far so good coach.
Wet Fields
I’m going to give Justin Fields the benefit of the doubt because of the conditions, but he didn’t look great. His improv touchdown pass to Pettis was the play of the game, but those are plays the Bears are hoping to see less of. The touchdown pass to St. Brown had great touch on it and was well drawn up. Rain or shine the interception he threw was bad, but no one is perfect. Overall with the weather it’s tough to grade Fields, but he led the Bears to a W and that is the most important stat.
Mooney & Quinn
Two of the best Bears players were no where to be found on Sunday. Mooney concerns me much more then Quinn. A wet field should give receivers a small edge if anything. It makes me think, now that Mooney is the opponents main concern at receiver he will be easy to shut down. With no Allen Robinson for them to worry about on the other side. Again just one game on a sloppy field, I’m not going to hit the panic button. As for Quinn he went up against the top left tackle in the NFL. No one gets past Trent Williams.
Action Jackson
It was great to see Eddie Jackson get a pick. He nearly snagged another late. If the Bears are going to do anything this year they need the old Eddie Jackson back. Week one will be a big boost to his confidence and the secondaries. Still not thrilled about his tackling however. I was very thrilled with how Brisker tackled. He made a huge tackle for loss during the Bears goal line stand.
Cairo’s extra points
Cairo Santos one of the Bears we planned to be able to count on struggled Sunday. Like a broken record again I will fall back on sloppy field conditions and give Cairo the benefit of the doubt. I hope this doesn’t effect his confidence. Low confidence will bring down even the best kickers.
What did we learn?
Not much, between the weather and the 49ers missing some key pieces like George Kittle it’s a hard game to use as a guage. I know I didn’t feel great about what I had seen but again, the Bears got the W. We will learn more after the Bears roll into the crown jewel of the league Lambeau Field. Packer fans aren’t feeling too great about what they saw Sunday. It’s a match up I’m looking forward too. 🐻⬇️