Bears’ defense leads the way in 19-10 win over 49ers to open season

The Bears pulled an upset in their season opener, winning Matt Eberflus’ debut as head coach 19-10 over the 49ers as rain-saturated Soldier Field.

While the defense was tenacious and the Bears beat a team that nearly went to the Super Bowl last season, there were still plenty of red flags on offense.

Quarterback Justin Fields finished 8 of 17 for 121 yards with two touchdown passes and an interception for an 85.7 passer rating. The Bears managed just 205 yards of total offense and benefited from a fumble recovery and an interception.

The most cutting insult to general manager Ryan Poles and Eberflus is to point out how familiar the offense looked. The last thing these guys want is to be even remotely reminiscent of the era that preceded them.

But the truth hurts. This grimy, mud bath of a game featured all the same problems that plagued the Bears’ offense before, including shaky quarterback play. Opening the season with a victory is nice, but it’s going to be difficult to keep winning unless Fields and the offense make major improvements.