The Bears fell short in a dramatic finish against the 49ers during “Sunday Night Football,” losing 42-38 in the final seconds of a thrilling contest between playoff contenders. With just four seconds remaining, the Bears found themselves at the 2-yard line but could not capitalize on the opportunity.
Quarterback Caleb Williams, lined up in the shotgun, attempted to execute a play with running back D”Andre Swift in motion for a swing pass. However, the play was quickly disrupted by rookie safety Malik Mustapha, forcing Williams to scramble for an open receiver. As he moved towards the left sideline under pressure, he threw off his back foot, aiming for rookie receivers Jahdae Walker and Luther Burden, but the pass fell incomplete, sealing the Bears” fate as the clock expired.
Bears head coach Ben Johnson reflected on the final play, admitting, “We didn”t quite get aligned in the formation we wanted to. It”s on me. I didn”t get him the call fast enough, so he”s trying to piecemeal it together. I have got to do a better job on that.”
Williams echoed his coach”s sentiments, noting the rushed situation. “We ended up getting lined up with not much time on the play clock. We were slightly lined up wrong. I didn”t have enough time to be able to fix it,” he said. He emphasized the need to give his receivers a chance in critical moments, stating, “We had a shot, and I”ve just gotta give my guys a shot in that situation.”
Despite the chaos, receiver DJ Moore was open on the opposite side of the field, but Williams was preoccupied with the pressure and missed the opportunity to connect. The play clock had just hit zero, and the Bears narrowly avoided a delay of game penalty, a scenario that 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan was aware of, which is why he opted not to call a timeout. “I thought about it,” Shanahan admitted. “We wanted to see the look, and then they just went fast, so we let it ride.”
This scenario is reminiscent of the infamous 2014 Super Bowl, where the Seahawks also failed to score in a critical moment due to miscommunication and a lack of timeouts, resulting in a game-ending interception by Malcolm Butler of the Patriots.
Prior to the final play, the Bears went deep into their playbook with a creative hook-and-ladder attempt on second down, which was ultimately stopped at the 2-yard line. They then spiked the ball to set up the final, fateful play.
This loss for the Bears came right after they secured the NFC North title with a victory by the Packers earlier in the weekend, but it dashed their hopes for the top seed in the conference. The outcome will now be determined in the upcoming Week 18 matchup between the 49ers and the Seahawks, where the winner will gain a bye and home-field advantage in the playoffs.
