49ers vs. Bears offensive grades: How did Trey Lance, others perform?

The San Francisco 49ers were upset by the Chicago Bears in Week 1, losing 19-10 to fall to 0-1 on the season.

In a game marred by severe rain, especially in the fourth quarter, neither team could really establish an offensive rhythm, with the 49ers consistently beating themselves with penalties and turnovers.



Here are the offensive grades for the 49ers:

Quarterback: B

Quarterback Trey Lance completed 13/28 passes for 164 yards with an interception, while rushing for 54 yards on 13 attempts.

Lance certainly made mistakes, missing Tyler Kroft on what would've been a wide-open touchdown from the opposing 32-yard line, while also being inaccurate on a number of other passes, mostly toward the middle of the field.

Lance also threw an interception on a pay that he was a tick late throwing the football, overthinking and trying to hold safety Eddie Jackson off the intended receiver for too long.

However, Lance's overall performance was much better than the box score indicated, as he completed several deep passes, including a layered throw to Ray-Ray McCloud on a crossing route for 20 yards.

While Lance didn't fare as well in the short game over the middle, he seemed to get a rhythm with the deep crossing routes, hitting Brandon Aiyuk on a similar play later in the game.

Lance's numbers suffered from three dropped passes by his receivers, including two by Deebo Samuel, and from playing under poor weather conditions during the fourth quarter in which he was required to pass down the stretch.

Lance will look to improve on his accuracy in Week 2 when he faces the Seattle Seahawks at home, although weather forecasts do indicate that rain could be present during Sunday's bout in Santa Clara.

Running Backs: B-

The running backs only had 15 of San Francisco's 37 carries on Sunday, as the 49ers relied more on Trey Lance and Deebo Samuel for their rushing output, with those two players being their top two rushers on the day.

Elijah Mitchell had a strong start, rushing six times for 41 yards, but suffered an MCL sprain and was unable to return, leaving Jeff Wilson Jr. as the top back for the remainder of the game.

Wilson was uninspiring, rushing nine times for just 22 yards, and didn't seem to have his regular explosion, although the run-blocking wasn't as great during his carries as well.

The 49ers did not rely on either of their rookie running backs, as Tyrion Davis-Price, San Francisco's third-round pick, was inactive, while Jordan Mason played on five special teams snaps.

Overall, the 49ers rushed for 176 yards on 37 carries, but San Francisco needs to look for more production from their actual running backs going forward, especially with Elijah Mitchell out.

Wide Receivers: B

The wide receivers had up-and-down performances on Sunday for various reasons.

Deebo Samuel was heavily featured, seeing eight targets and eight carries, but wasn't very efficient in the passing game, catching just two of those passes, while dropping two as well.

Samuel finished the day with 14 receiving yards and 52 rushing yards, but also fumbled the ball in the redzone on one of his carries, costing the 49ers a chance to score on a day where they needed offensive consistency.

Brandon Aiyuk was efficient when he received touches, but wasn't featured nearly as much as Samuel, seeing just three targets, while catching two passes for 40 yards.

Aiyuk made a nice catch-and-run on a wide-open deep crossing route, while also making a third catch on an out-route that was called back due to penalty.

Jauan Jennings surprisingly led the 49ers with four receptions and 62 yards, which included a 44-yard deep pass from Lance.

However, on the 44-yard play, Jennings was caught from behind, despite having green grass in front of him, and that drive resulted in only a field goal.

Also on that same drive, Jennings missed a block on a Wilson Jr. run in the red zone, and the 49ers were forced to settle for the field goal.

Ray-Ray McCloud was featured as well, catching one pass for 20 yards on a nice, layered throw from Trey Lance on a deep crossing route between multiple defenders.

Tight Ends: C

The tight ends had minimal impact on the game, with both Ross Dwelley and Tyler Kroft catching one pass a piece.

On the Dwelley completion, Trey Lance nice pocket presence, moving up in the pocket and firing to his tight end instead of taking off immediately, which resulted in a first down conversion.

With George Kittle out, Lance didn't have one of his premier targets from the preseason, who could've been both a safety blanket and a vertical threat against linebackers and safeties.

Currently, it's unknown whether Kittle will return for Week 2, although he did not practice on Wednesday as he continues to rehab from a groin injury sustained early last week in practice.

Offensive Line: C+

The offensive line did not have a great game as an overall unit on Sunday, with Trey Lance being pressured 12 times on 30 dropbacks, even while avoiding even more pressures with his pocket presence and running ability.

Surprisingly, it was the tackles that didn't perform to expectation, as Trent Williams didn't have his usual elite performance, while Mike McGlinchey gave up a sack and had a miss or two in the running game as well.

Rookie guard Spencer Burford had a fairly clean game, allowing zero pressures with an impressive 96.2% pass-block win rate, which was the highest of the starters.

Here were the pass-block win-rate numbers for the entire offensive line, per ESPN's Nick Wagoner.


The 49ers' offensive line will look to improve against the Seattle Seahawks in Week 2, while continuing to build cohesion, as Week 1 was the first in-game experience that the entire starting unit has had together.

• Rohan Chakravarthi
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  Rohan Chakravarthi
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