Gunslinger Brock Purdy and the 49ers emerged victorious in a true Wild, Wild West shootout with Caleb Williams and the Chicago Bears on Sunday night at Levi’s Stadium.
Purdy continued his scorching-hot play, leading the 49ers to a thrilling 42-38 win over the Bears.
Purdy’s 38-yard touchdown pass to Jauan Jennings proved to be the difference in the 49ers’ win.
The 49ers’ defense came up with a stop when they needed it, forcing an incompletion from Williams on the final play of the game.
The win pushes the 49ers to 12-4 and sets up an epic winner-take-all showdown with the 13-3 Seattle Seahawks at 5 p.m. PT on Saturday in Santa Clara, with the NFC West title, the NFC’s No. 1 overall seed and a first-round playoff bye on the line.
Purdy’s night got off to a rough start when he was intercepted on the first offensive play of the game, and Bears linebacker T.J. Edwards returned it for a 34-yard pick-six to give Chicago a quick lead.
But Purdy settled down and led the 49ers on four first-half touchdown drives, as San Francisco took a 28-21 lead into halftime.
Purdy’s first half included two touchdown runs and one touchdown pass to tight end Jake Tonges. The fourth-year quarterback ended up completing 24 of 33 passes for 303 yards and three touchdowns with one interception.
Purdy also added 28 rushing yards and two touchdowns on six carries.
Running back Christian McCaffrey found ample room to roam, finishing with 140 yards and one touchdown run on 23 carries.
Here are Matt Maiocco’s takeaways from the 49ers’ win:
Worst-possible start
The Bears thrive on takeaways, so the one thing the 49ers could not afford was an early-game giveaway.
Although the 49ers had possession to open the game, it was Chicago that jumped out to a 7-0 lead just 15 seconds into the game.
Cornerback Jaylon Johnson perfectly read Jauan Jennings’ route and arrived at the same time as Brock Purdy’s pass. The ball fluttered in the air, allowing Edmunds to pluck it out of the air and return it 34 yards for a touchdown.
But that was not even the worst part.
Left tackle Trent Williams, a 12-time Pro Bowl selection, sustained a right hamstring injury as he was chasing Edmunds into the end zone. Williams was sidelined for the rest of the game, as backup Austen Pleasants took over protecting Purdy’s blindside.
Offense on a roll
The 49ers finally called upon Thomas Morstead for the first time after 23 consecutive possessions did not end in a punt.
But the 49ers’ offense did not exactly slow down, either.
The 49ers scored four touchdowns in the first half, as they rolled up 330 yards of total offense in taking a 28-21 lead at the break.
Christian McCaffrey built on the momentum of his success against Indianapolis on Monday night to rush for 121 yards and a touchdown on 18 carries in the first half.
Purdy rushed for two touchdowns and also threw a 1-yard touchdown pass to Tonges, who took over for injured George Kittle.
Stops in short supply
The 49ers’ defense could not prevent the Bears from providing their own offensive fireworks.
Williams and the Bears matched the 49ers touchdown for touchdown. San Francisco had little luck against the Chicago running game, and it could not slow down Williams, either.
The combination of D’Andre Swift and Kyle Monangai tore off big chunks of yards on the ground, and Williams had his way through the air with his big arm.
The 49ers did not get pressure on Williams, and he made them pay with a couple of deep strikes down the field for touchdown passes of 35 yards to Luther Burden and 36 yards to tight end Colston Loveland.
It was not an easy matchup, but the 49ers’ defense has a lot to clean up for Week 18 against Seattle and into the postseason.
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