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Bright spots remain after Bears fall short against 49ers
FOX 32's Lou Canellis breaks down the Bears' loss to the 49ers and takes a look ahead to a pivotal game against the Lions.
There’s nothing like an old-school western film.
They have all the classic tropes: a lone hero, showdowns at high noon, a saloon brawl or two, the good guy wearing the white hat, the villains wearing all black, a damsels in distress and the corrupt sheriff bit.
The Chicago Bears and 49ers were lacking the damsel in distress and an ill-willed sheriff, but they did have a saloon brawl at high primetime. The Niners’ 42-38 win felt like a classic shootout. It was a classic western that gets its reruns on one of the dozen movie channels late at night.
The 49ers got the best of the Bears this time around. Quarterback Caleb Williams, with a chance to win at the buzzer, couldn’t be the lone hero.
"When you go against a dynamic offense like that, you talk about the possibilities as an offense of going tit-for-tat with them, and at times we may answer that call," Bears coach Ben Johnson said. "They just ended up making more plays than us."
There are no moral victories in football.
Players in the most physical sport in the world don’t want to hear the would’ve-could’ve-should’ve or receive a congratulatory pat on the back. They want to win.
The Bears learned they can win this year, and they’ve won a lot. They’ve clinched a home playoff game, won the NFC North, won games where they were dead in the water and even miraculously beat the Packers.
Losing to the 49ers in a game where they just ran out of time isn’t a death knell.
Instead, the Bears deserve to hold their heads high. We learned this team's offense is ready for the playoffs.
Big picture view:
The Bears’ offense has started slowly plenty of times in the second half of the season. They started slow for what felt like three quarters against the Packers. They had two three-and-out drives to start in Santa Clara Sunday night.
That irritates gunslinger Williams, which is what he was against the 49ers. Out in the west, Caleb Williams fired 330 passing yards from his hip.
"Let’s put it this way … you only get 70 or so plays," Williams said. "You don't want one of those to go to waste."
Grading the Chicago Bears in their primetime shootout vs. San Francisco
Here's how we graded the Bears' primetime showdown with the 49ers, where the offenses were flying and the defenses were nonexistent.
The Bears need to start faster. Especially if they want a chance to beat the likes of San Francisco, Seattle, Los Angeles and more.
Those three teams are hitting an offensive stride in December that makes it near impossible to keep up with without having a top-tier defense or an offense that can go toe-to-toe. The Bears don’t have that kind of defense. They could get there, and would need to get there quickly, but it’s not there right now.
On Sunday, the Bears showed they have the offense to do it, though.
Johnson matched blows with Kyle Shanahan. It was an exciting game to watch. The Bears made their plays work and the 49ers never wasted a second. If the Bears turned one of their two three-and-out drives into points, the final minute would have looked a lot different.
But, it’s also fair to assume the Bears’ defense won’t be hampered by injuries and illness in the playoffs the same way they were this week, which was something that really took hold later in the week.
Cornerback Nahshon Wright was also hampered by an illness and a hamstring injury. Defensive back Nick McCloud was out because of that illness. CJ Gardner-Johnson was also battling a knee injury. San Francisco’s offense is great, but every little bit of depth probably would have helped.
The most curious part of Sunday was how linebacker D’Marco Jackson, who had been stellar in relief of Tremaine Edmunds and TJ Edwards, did not play a defensive snap. He was on the injury report with an illness but was a full go by Friday’s practice.
While it was fun to watch the offenses go at it, the defenses did not have nearly as much fun.
"As a defense, we made too many mistakes," Bears safety Kevin Byard said. "I don’t think anybody played well enough."
That’s why it still speaks volumes about the Bears’ offense.
They’re ready to go for the postseason.
Was that an NFC Playoff preview? Takeaways from the Chicago Bears shootout loss vs. the 49ers
Here’s what we learned from the Bears’ shootout loss to the 49ers, where the Bears went toe-to-toe with an NFC contender.
What's next:
The simple takeaway is that the defense needs to be better.
This is the second game this season where they’ve given up over 40 points. Williams and Colston Loveland bailed them out against the Bengals, but the 49ers are a far cry from the Bengals.
However, the silver lining is how the Bears’ offense is now playing at a very high level. They need to sustain it for a second game in a row against Detroit, but there’s no denying the Bears are in a position now to compete with anyone in the playoffs offensively.
The offense has materialized game-winning drives in six games this season.
"We know what type of team we are. We know who we are," Williams said. "We know that all these ball games, we know we got a real shot to win these."
The Bears can ride that in an upcoming postseason where there’s no established favorite.
The reigning Super Bowl champion Eagles are in, but the Bears beat them earlier this year. The Rams, 49ers and Seahawks have all beaten up on each other this year. The Bears’ defense could be an Achilles heel when it’s not creating turnovers.
But, the Bears have the chance to contend because of this ability to win in the clutch. If the offense plays as it did on Sunday, they’ll have a chance to win multiple postseason games.
"We'll go back and look at the tape and find out why and what," Williams said, "So we can get back on that roll and get back on the run."