Wacky towel penalty saves 49ers three points vs. Bears

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It didn't take long for the first odd flag of the 2022 NFL season to be thrown.

In the second quarter of the 49ers' season-opening game against the Bears, Chicago holder Trenton Gill was given a 15-yard unsportsmanlike penalty for bringing a towel on the field to wipe down the wet grass before Cairo Santos' field-goal attempt.

Gill wiped down the field and tossed the towel to the side. He was ready to take the snap before the flag was thrown.

The penalty bumped Chicago out of field-goal range. The Bears had to punt the ball back to San Francisco in the final minute of the second quarter, leaving them off the scoreboard in the first half.

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The conditions at Soldier Field were sloppy from the start, as rain poured down all morning and early afternoon in Chicago. The grounds crew at Soldier Field was seen using squeegees before the game to get the field ready for action.

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