Illegal use of towel costs Bears FG attempt vs. 49ers

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Watch: Bears get penalized for illegal use of a towel

By Adam Gretz | Last updated 9/11/22

Watch enough sports and you are probably going to see something you have never seen before.

With that in mind, let us take you to Chicago for Sunday's season opening game between the Chicago Bears and San Francisco 49ers. It is there that we see one of the weirdest penalties you will ever see.

Just watch and listen.

"Unsportsmanlike conduct. Chicago, #16. Brought a towel out on the field during the dead-ball period and wiped the field down. By rule that's illegal."

This really happened. Penalty took Chicago out of FG range. pic.twitter.com/kjavbZXbMi
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) September 11, 2022

Yes that is a penalty for illegal use of a towel. You see, this game is being played in mud-bowl conditions. The Bears wanted to try a field goal, which would not be easy in those conditions, so Bears holder Trenton Gill tried to wipe the football down with a towel before the snap.

That is not allowed. That also took the Bears out of field goal range. Combined with the lackluster showing of the entire Bears offense in the first half and things are going about as expected for them to start the season.

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