The San Francisco 49ers love to make things interesting. They wasted little time against the Chicago Bears. Brock Purdy’s first pass attempt was intercepted and returned for a touchdown. His intended target, Jauan Jennings, ran a D- route.
Not only did the 49ers go down 7-0 on the first play, but they also lost Trent Williams to a hamstring injury as Williams was chasing down the defender on the interception—a double whammy.
The second drive looked like the offense we had gotten accustomed to watching.
Jake Tonges caught an 18-yard pass. Demarcus Robinson followed a Tonges 8-yard reception with a 25-yarder of his own. Tonges was wide open in the end zone from the 1-yard line to even the score at seven.
Caleb Williams and Purdy both had a couple of early tipped passes. The next three possessions resulted in punts. That’s right, the Niners defense forced two three-and-outs to begin the game. During our preview, we said two stops in a half, a low bar to clear, would be enough. How about two to start the game?
The 49ers only needed a minute and 21 seconds to score on their ensuing drive. The bye week did wonders for Christian McCaffrey. He had a 41-yard rush to begin the drive. Brian Robinson followed that up with a 15-yarder of his own, and Purdy scrambled his way untouched into the end zone from 10 yards out.
We knew the Bears would score. We were worried about Luther Burden. He caught a first down on the second play of the drive. Then, he beat Ji’Ayir Brown for 35 yards on a deep route. Ben Johnson schemed it up, and Caleb Williams didn’t miss. That tied the score at 14.
By the end of the first quarter, the 49ers were averaging 8.1 yards per play compared to the Bears’ 6.8. The 49ers had 10 first downs on 23 plays, and were getting whatever they wanted against the Bears. But you also knew the Bears weren’t going away.
Ricky Pearsall joined the fun on the next drive. He caught a 30-yard pass and a 13-yarder on the drive. McCaffrey capped things off with a 16-yard rush before going untouched into the end zone from five yards out, giving the Niners a 21-14 lead.
The Bears took advantage of what seemed to be a miscue by the refs on the next drive. There was pre-snap contact by the defensive lineman who jumped offside. The play should’ve been blown dead, and Chicago awarded five yards. Instead, they give Caleb Williams a free play, and he throws a rope to Colston Loveland for a 36-yard touchdown. And just like that, the score was tied once more at 21.
The next drive came down to a 56-yard field goal attempt, or going for it on 4th & 3. Purdy missed Tonges on third down, but fired a strike to Pearsall on 4th & 3 for a 14-yard gain. McCaffrey eluded a pair of defenders on the next third down to give the offense a goal-to-go situation.
Purdy threw an interception in the end zone, but the turnover was negated due to an illegal hands to the face penalty. That flag moved the ball to the three-yard line. Purdy kept the ball on a zone read on second down to give the 49ers a 28-21 lead in what was a wild first half.
There were still over three minutes remaining, and the 49ers had 289 yards of offense and 19 first downs on 41 plays. They were also 5-for-7 on third and fourth downs, while scoring a touchdown on all four red zone attempts. The offense also dominated the time of possession, keeping the ball for 20:50 of the first 27-ish minutes.
The Bears had a chance to double-dip. They had over three minutes before the half and would receive the ball to start the third quarter. But Williams missed a wide-open receiver, and Keion White forced him from the pocket on third down to force a much-needed punt.
The defense got the Bears into 3rd & 14, but couldn’t get off the field and allowed a wide-open receiver. Then, on the next play, Jason Pinnock saw his first snap. As surprising as the following information might be, Pinnock allowed a 25-yard reception after falling for play-action. Chicago punched it in on 3rd & goal, and we were tied once more at 28.
Understanding that the Bears weren’t going anywhere anytime soon. Kendrick Bourne picked up 25 yards on the first play of the drive. Bourne now needed 49 more yards to cash a total of $750,000 in incentives.
A McCaffrey run here. A McCaffrey run there, and the Niners found themselves in the red zone once more. Brian Robinson converted another first down. Purdy capped it off after avoiding a pair of Bears’ rushers before finding Kyle Juszczyk in the end zone for a touchdown that even his biggest detractors would be impressed with. That score made it 35-28.
The defense forced another 3rd-and-long. Keion White was once again unblocked. This time, Williams made the 49ers pay for letting him out of the pocket. Burden beat Upton Stout for 27 yards on the scramble. Keion White forced a holding to force another 3rd & long. This time, the Bears needed 11 yards. This time, the defense forced a stop.
However, Ben Johnson knew this wasn’t a game where field goals would make a difference. On 4th & 5, with Stout in the blue medical tent, Colston Loveland beat Darrell Luter for another first down. D’Andre Swift avoided four 49ers’ defenders to tie the score again at 35.
You likely got a bit nervous on 3rd & 7. The offensive line did its part, and Pearsall picked up 20 yards and yet another first down. The offense couldn’t convert its second 3rd-and-7 of the drive. That meant Morstead would punt for the second time. He pinned the Bears at the 10-yard line.
That didn’t seem to matter. Burden picked up 25 yards. Loveland beat Luke Gifford for 32 yards. A delay-of-game penalty ended up being the Niners’ saving grace. Well, Tatum Bethune had a boneheaded penalty that gave the Bears a fresh set of downs on 2nd & 11, but Kalia Davis sniffed out a screen on 2nd & goal.
A Bears field goal made it 38-35 with just over five minutes to play. Tonges, as he did all night, came through on 3rd & 6. Chicago’s illegal use of hands bailed Tonges out from dropping the ball on a screen pass. Shanahan dialed up the same screen, but this time to McCaffrey. He gained 18 yards.
Purdy found Jauan Jennings on 2nd & 10 streaking over the middle. Jennings outran the defense, and 38 yards later, he was in the end zone. That made it 42-38 with 2:15 to play. Purdy’s touchdown pass made him the sixth player since the merger to have back-to-back games with 5+ touchdowns. Every time Caleb Williams had an answer, Purdy punched back.
The defense would need to get it done without Upton Stout, who was out with a concussion. Stout’s backup, Chase Lucas, was penalized for defensive holding. Alfred Collins tipped the pass on first down. On 3rd & 4, Williams scrambled for a first down.
Lucas gave up another reception. This time, on 3rd & 10 to Burden. The Bears ran the same concept on the ensuing third down, but Burden dropped the ball. The game came down to 4th & 5. Saleh showed a blitz but backed out of it. Williams found Loveland, and the Bears lived to fight another day.
The Bears ran a Hook & Ladder. They didn’t score, and there were four seconds left. Williams scrambled, ran around, but couldn’t find anybody in the end zone. The 49ers got a stop when they needed it the most, and won 42-38 in one of the most thrilling games you’ll ever see.
The 49ers gained 496 yards of offense. They were 8-for-11 on third and fourth down, and converted all five of their red zone trips to touchdowns. It’s crazy, but 42 points just barely ended up being enough to win.
