San Francisco 49ers Quarterback Trey Lance Struggles in Rain-Soaked Loss to Chicago Bears

The San Francisco 49ers and Chicago Bears clashed in Week 1 under near-monsoon conditions, and quarterback Trey Lance stumbled in his long-awaited debut as his team's unquestioned starter. The 49ers jumped out to a 10-0 third-quarter lead, but couldn't sustain drives on the swamp-like field, and the Bears scored 19 unanswered to slip away with the shocking upset.

All eyes were on Lance entering the game, and he failed to inspire much confidence in the inclement weather. The 49ers quarterback completed a mere 13 of his 28 pass attempts for 155 net passing yards and added 54 rushing yards on 13 totes. His highlight of the day was a 44-yard completion to Jauan Jennings, but a costly interception handed the Bears a touchdown that enabled them to go up two scores in the fourth quarter, and the 49ers never crossed midfield again. San Francisco will hope the weather is to blame for their second-year passer's streaky start, and he'll perform better in more typical settings.

As for the Bears, their own second-year quarterback over-delivered after an offseason where many were projecting Chicago as one of the worst teams in the league. Justin Fields came through in the clutch after a rough first half, eventually tossing a pair of touchdowns to top the quarterback taken eight picks ahead of him in the 2021 NFL Draft. Fields was similarly inconsistent to Lance, only accounting for 105 net passing yards on his 19 dropbacks, but he avoided costly turnovers, and rookie pass rusher Dominique Robinson pitched in with a surprising 1.5 sacks.

Looking ahead to Week 2, the San Francisco 49ers will have a chance to redeem themselves in their home opener against the Seattle Seahawks, and the Chicago Bears go on the road to do battle with a Green Bay Packers squad coming off a humbling loss.