The 49ers offense lit up the Bears. Their defense won them the game
Brock Purdy may have scored five TDs and the offense may have piled up 496 yards. But it was San Francisco's defense that came up biggest.
SANTA CLARA — The San Francisco 49ers defense doesn’t mean to do it, but it keeps setting the bar higher for the team’s offense.
Brock Purdy needed his fifth touchdown of the night, a 38-yard pass to Jauan Jennings, to give the 49ers the 42-38 lead with 2:15 left. And, if they’re being honest, everyone at Levi’s Stadium had the same thought:
That’s way too much time.
Turns out it wasn’t, as the Chicago Bears only had four seconds left when they reached the 2-yard line. But Bryce Huff and Yetur Gross-Matos were able to get some pressure on quarterback Caleb Williams, who rolled out, drifted and wound up short-hopping a throw into the end zone.
“We knew we had to empty the tank,” Gross-Matos said. “We knew what was at stake.”
The 49ers have seemingly been running on fumes all year after losing their two best defensive players to injury, but here they are at 12-4 after Sunday night’s win. Part of that is due to a winning culture that rubs off on young players quickly. Second-year receiver Ricky Pearsall’s bad knee was barking Saturday, and coach Kyle Shanahan said he was proud of him for gutting it out Sunday night. Not to mention having five catches for 85 yards.
“I lean on guys like George (Kittle) and Christian (McCaffrey) to help push through and get ready to play,” Pearsall said. “Those guys are just two of the great players and leaders we have in this locker room, and that hits you the first time you walk in after you’re drafted or sign here. We have something special here … and it’s big reason we are 12-4 despite all the adversity.”
It also doesn’t hurt to have McCaffrey and the hottest quarterback in the league. Purdy has 10 touchdowns in the last two weeks. “He’s getting more and more swagger,” Pearsall said, smiling. “His dances are getting longer and longer.”
The coaching staff obviously also deserves a lot of credit.
But just going off the last play of the game, the 49ers are hosting the Seahawks Saturday night for the No. 1 seed in the NFC thanks to … the defense.
“They stepped it up huge, man,” Shanahan said, “I mean, the Bears have had more fourth quarter comebacks, I think, than anyone in the history of the NFL. … I know there’s a lot we can clean up from the whole game. Probably made too many mistakes, but to get it done … They’re at their best when their best was needed, and to stop them on that last drive was huge.”
It felt like a playoff game, and fans got their money’s worth. It was the first time in NFL history a regular-season game has been tied at 7-7, 14-14, 21-21, 28-28, and 35-35. The Bears became the first team in NFL history to lose a game when scoring 35 or more points, including a touchdown on defense, with no turnovers while allowing no sacks.
The 49ers defensive players knew eventually it would come down to them, because their offense is just that good. It didn’t matter that George Kittle was out with an ankle injury or that Pro Bowl left tackle Trent Williams tweaked his hamstring on the first play of the game (a pick six).