SANTA CLARA – The 49ers again showed they have an offense very capable of driving the team deep into the NFL playoffs toward another Super Bowl. They also have a defense that is equally capable of ending their postseason prematurely.
San Francisco’s wild 42-38 win over the Chicago Bears on Sunday at Levi’s Stadium drove those two points home emphatically.
The 49ers’ offense showcased the athleticism and craftiness of quarterback Brock Purdy, while the defense basically was on the field for show.
Yet with the game on the line and the Bears driving toward a potential game-winning touchdown in the final seconds, the 49ers’ defense forced Chicago quarterback Caleb Williams into a hurried throw that bounced in front of the intended receiver in the end zone.
“There’s a lot we can clean up from the whole game,” 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan said. “We made too many mistakes, but to get it done, they were at their best when the best was needed. To stop them on the last drive was huge.”
What happened before that last drive was equally huge, but for many wrong reasons.
Chicago had scoring drives of 77, 65, 65 and 80 yards and put together a fifth scoring drive that netted 78 yards and a field goal.
Williams shredded San Francisco’s secondary all day, passing for a season-high 330 yards with two touchdowns while garnering a 100.3 QB rating. Chicago also converted six of 12 third-down opportunities.
The 49ers struggled defensively even though the Bears, who entered the day with the NFL’s No. 3 rushing attack, stuck to their passing attack for most of the game. Chicago had 22 running plays, but five came on scrambles by Williams.
“We had some opportunities to get off on third down that we hurt ourselves on, so we tried to clean up those mistakes, and didn’t do it well throughout the whole game,” Shanahan said.
That might be an understatement.
Williams wasn’t under much pressure most of the afternoon and was able to scramble out of trouble whenever he felt any heat.
Problem was, there wasn’t much heat to come from the 49ers’ defense. They didn’t register a sack and had only three QB hurries.
That’s to be expected given that Nick Bosa and Fred Warner have been unable to play due to injuries, although Warner told the NBC Sports pregame show he might be ready to come back sooner than expected.
If Warner is able to get back in time for the playoffs, it would provide a definitive boost. It will only matter, though, if the rest of the 49ers’ defense can somehow manage to elevate the overall production on that side of the ball.
If that doesn’t happen, it could be a quick one-and-done trip to the postseason.
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