SANTA CLARA, Calif. — If this is what the playoffs are going to be like for the Bears with quarterback Caleb Williams, it’s going to be thrilling.
It has felt for weeks like he’s on the brink of turning the corner, and he might have done it Sunday against the 49ers. He was at his best in a prime-time, pivotal game and came within inches of pulling off the most dazzling comeback of his career before his final pass fell just short, and the 49ers survived 42-38 at Levi’s Stadium.
The Bears’ pursuit of the No. 1 playoff seed in the NFC ended with the loss. The 49ers and Seahawks will play for that this week, and the Bears need to beat the Lions or get an Eagles loss to the Commanders to secure the No. 2 seed.
If the Bears drop to third in the conference, their most likely opponent is the Rams. If they stay at No. 2, they’ll open with a home game against the Packers in the wild-card round.
The NFL planned to announce its Week 18 schedule late Sunday, which would put Bears-Lions on Saturday or Sunday.
The Bears went took a 38-35 lead over the 49ers on Cairo Santos’ 29-yard field goal with six minutes left, then the 49ers answered with Brock Purdy’s 38-yard touchdown pass to Jauan Jennings to go back ahead 42-35 and leave Williams one last shot with 2:15 left from his own 35-yard line.
He pushed the Bears to the 49ers’ 13-yard line, and they ran a trick play in which he fired a short pass to the right to tight end Colston Loveland, who pitched it to running back D’Andre Swift. Swift nearly got to the end zone, but the 49ers’ Deommodore Lenoir and Ji’Ayir Brown stopped him at the 2-yard line. The Bears spiked the ball with five seconds left to get one last play.
Williams was in trouble immediately upon the snap and scrambled as time expired. Rolling to his left, he threw to wide receiver Jahdae Walker in the end zone, but the ball skipped off the ground just before it got to him.
She shot the pregame warmups.
Practically a blink of an eye ago, it was plausible the Bears would miss the playoffs altogether. Win, lose or draw at Levi’s Stadium, the Bears were safely in as NFC North champions.
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