The San Francisco 49ers are facing the Chicago Bears for the second straight year. In 2024, head coach Kyle Shanahan’s squad came away with a dominant 38-13 victory at Levi’s Stadium, and aim to repeat that success on Sunday night as they continue their push toward the postseason.
Then-rookie quarterback Caleb Williams threw for 134 yards and two touchdowns in last year’s 49ers-Bears matchup. Now in his second NFL season, Williams enters Week 17 with 3,400 passing yards, 23 touchdowns, and six interceptions. His production has benefited from Chicago’s top-tier ground game, which ranks second in the league.
“I think anytime you give a quarterback a top run game, they all look better,” Shanahan said on Wednesday. “So, I think that helps him huge.”
Shanahan made it clear the 49ers are not overlooking Williams or his ability to extend plays and create explosive opportunities.
“Caleb is one of the best throwers, one of the most athletic quarterbacks I’ve ever seen in terms of his height, weight and speed,” Shanahan said. “He makes some big-time throws, extremely scary on the perimeter, can hold onto the ball for a while, not in a bad way, but by creating stuff which makes coverages have to hold up forever.
“And when you have a talented guy like that, who’s got the speed and the size, usually they get a run game, get some bootlegs and play actions off of it, you limit how many times you’ve got to drop back. It makes sense why he is playing at such high level.”
The 49ers hope to close out the regular season with two straight wins, beginning with Chicago. Winning out would secure the NFC West title and lock up the No. 1 seed in the NFC playoffs.