5 things to watch for in Chicago Bears vs. San Francisco 49ers

Justin Fields needs to show progress.

The second-year quarterback’s development is the key to not only the Chicago Bears’ success this season but also long-term.

Fields had a terrible rookie season when he threw 10 interceptions and was sacked over 30 times. Some of that falls on a bad offensive line and a past coaching staff incapable of properly game planning to Fields’ strengths.

Fields’ part in the problem was he had a penchant for holding onto the ball too long and wanting to see his wide receiver wide open before throwing.

Getsy worked with Fields in the offseason on his footwork and timing in the hope that will help unlock Fields’ enormous potential.

The coaching staff plans on running the ball more to open up play-action and bootlegs to take advantage of Fields’ big arm and running ability.

The Bears are not going anywhere if Fields’ first-year struggles are prevalent this season.

Fields needs to show at a minimum he can read defenses, scan the field effectively, get the ball out quickly, and take care of it.

It will be no easy task against a tough 49ers defense. It is an even bigger challenge with an overhauled offensive line. Fields did have a solid preseason. He just needs to carry that over into the regular season when he will face defenses that have game planned for him and are not running vanilla looks.

If he can do that, the Bears’ future looks bright. If he struggles, then it might back to the drawing board at the quarterback position.

Who else can emerge as an offensive weapon outside of Darnell Mooney?

Mooney had over 1,000 yards receiving last season. He is now the unquestioned number one wide receiver now that Allen Robinson is with the Los Angeles Rams.

Poles did not add a lot of firepower to the wide receiver corp. In the offseason, he signed Equanimeous St. Brown, Bryon Pringle, and Dante Pettis. He added Velus Jones Jr. in the draft and claimed Ihmir Smith-Marsetteoff off of waivers after he was part of the Minnesota Vikings’ final cuts.

The hope is Brown and Pettis have some potential to emerge as reliable targets that their prior teams could not unlock. Additionally, Poles believes Pringle can emerge into an even better receiver after being the third or fourth option in Kansas City.

Although, it will be hard for Pringle to develop chemistry with Fields. Pringle missed all of the preseason games with an injury. Jones Jr. is also battling an injury that will most likely cause him to miss this game.

It is a wide receiver group that is not going to cause defensive coordinators to panic. Someone will have to emerge to help Fields and also prevent defenses from doubling Mooney.

Tight end Cole Kmet has a chance to emerge as a reliable target for Fields.

The offense is designed to feature the tight end and Kmet showed in the preseason he can pick up yardage if he is left open in the flat. It is his third season and now is a good time for the former second-round pick to emerge as the difference-making tight end that the Bears’ previous management team envisioned.