SANTA CLARA, Calif. – Trailing the 49ers 42-38 late Sunday night at Levi's Stadium, the cardiac Bears were in position to win a game they trailed in the final two minutes for the seventh time this season.
They marched the length of the field, eventually reaching the San Francisco 2 with :04 remaining. But on the game's final play, Caleb Williams' pass into the end zone intended for Jahdae Walker hit the ground just in front of the receiver, preserving the 49ers' victory. Williams deftly extended the play, rolling to his left to elude defenders before throwing back across his body.
"That's a tough one for our guys," said coach Ben Johnson. "It's somewhat similar there to the Green Bay game a few weeks ago just in terms of coming down to the last minute, last play of the game and just coming up one play short there."
The Bears and 49ers combined for 11 touchdowns and 936 total yards in a wildly entertaining shootout between 11-4 playoff qualifiers.
Williams completed 25 of 42 passes for a season-high 330 yards with two touchdowns, no turnovers and a 100.3 passer rating. Two rookies led the Bears in receiving, with Luther Burden III catching eight passes for 138 yards and one TD and Colston Loveland adding six receptions for 94 yards and one touchdown.
Niners quarterback Brock Purdy countered by passing for 303 yards and three touchdowns and rushing for 28 yards and two TDs against a defense that was credited with one sack and one quarterback hit.
"He's a dangerous player, particularly when he can see down the field and have that much time," Johnson said. "And then he extended some of those plays with his legs too. He did a real nice job, and we certainly didn't affect him enough."
After clinching the NFC North title Saturday night when Baltimore beat Green Bay, the Bears (11-5) lost for just the second time in their last nine games. The defeat ensured them of being either the No. 2 or 3 seed in the NFC playoffs. They can secure the No. 2 spot next Sunday with a home win over the Lions or an Eagles home loss to the Commanders.
The Bears got off to a quick start in San Francisco, taking a 7-0 lead on the game's first play from scrimmage when Jaylon Johnson jumped a slant route and deflected Purdy's pass to T.J. Edwards, who returned the interception 34 yards for a touchdown.
"The pick six by T.J. was huge to get us going," Johnson said. "You could really feel the sideline come alive there."
After the 49ers tied the score 7-7 on Purdy's 1-yard TD pass to Jake Tonges, the Bears followed four San Francisco touchdowns with four of their own, tying the game 14-14, 21-21, 28-28 and 35-35.
Williams said the resiliency showed "we can hang with anybody, and if our guys on the other side of the ball maybe are having a tough day, we'll be right there with them having their back just as they've done for us in a multitude of games."
The Bears rallied to knot the score 14-14 on Williams' 35-yard TD pass to Burden late in the first quarter, 21-21 on Williams' 36-yard TD pass to Loveland on a free play after drawing the 49ers offsides early in the second period, 28-28 on D'Andre Swift's 2-yard TD run in the third quarter and 35-35 on Swift's 22-yard TD run early in the fourth period.
The Bears then took a 38-35 lead on Cairo Santos' 29-yard field goal with 5:22 left in the fourth quarter. But the 49ers regained a 42-38 advantage on Purdy's 38-yard TD pass to Jauan Jennings with 2:15 to play.
The Bears began their subsequent possession at their own 35, and just like he's done all season, Williams operated the two-minute drill with precision. He sustained the drive with a 4-yard scramble on third-and-4, a 14-yard pass to Burden on third-and-10 and a 13-yard completion to Loveland on fourth-and-5 to the 13 with :26 to play.
On second-and-10 from the 13. Williams threw over the middle to Loveland, who pitched the ball to Swift heading toward the right sideline. But the 49ers tackled Swift at the 2. With the Bears out of timeouts, Williams spiked the ball to kill the clock with :04 remaining.
Then on the game's final play, the Bears apparently weren't lined up properly, according to Johnson and Williams.
"We didn't quite get aligned in the formation we wanted to," Johnson said. "It's on me. I didn't get [Williams] the call fast enough, and so he's trying to piecemeal it together."
"We were slightly lined up wrong, and I didn't have enough time to be able to fix it, and so we just had to try to make something out of nothing in that situation," Williams said. "But with all of that going on—time running down, us misaligned—we had a shot, and I've just got to give my guys a shot in that situation. I ended up dirting the ball; didn't get my legs into it and just put the ball in the end zone in that moment. If it's a pick or an incomplete at that point … but can't dirt the ball."
The Bears rallied after trailing 28-21 at halftime. In the first half, the 49ers held decisive advantages in first downs (22-8), total yards (330-154) and plays (47-19).
"The first half certainly didn't go the way we wanted it to as a team," Johnson said. "They controlled the ball. They did a good job building a lead there. We couldn't stay on the field on offense.
"In the second half, I did feel we picked up our game as a team and we closed that gap, and we made it to where we could potentially win that thing there at the end. I was proud of the guys for that, but it just wasn't enough. And when you go on the road against a good team like that, you've got to be on top of your mess the entire time, and we just weren't."
Personnel notes
Receiver DJ Moore and right tackle Darnell Wright both played Sunday night despite being listed as questionable on the injury report due to being sick. Wright flew to San Francisco Sunday after not traveling with the team Saturday.
Receiver Olamide Zaccheaus and defensive back Nick McCloud did not play due to illness. Receiver Rome Odunze missed his fourth straight game with a foot injury. Other inactives were quarterback Case Keenum, offensive linemen Luke Newman, linebacker Ruben Hyppolite II and cornerback Dallis Flowers.
Niners tight end George Kittle sat out the game with an ankle injury. This season, he has 52 receptions for 599 yards and seven touchdowns.
