Ben Johnson and Caleb Williams prove the Bears can hang in a heavyweight fight but one concern will certainly make things difficult
This Bears offense is incredible, but Chicago’s defense can’t stop a runny nose.
The Cardiac Chicago Bears finally had the luck run out on “Sunday Night Football” against the San Francisco 49ers but man what an absolute masterclass of a game that was between the two head coaches in Ben Johnson and Kyle Shanahan.
An offensive slugfest that again came down to the last play for this Bears team but as Mike Tirico said, the clock struck midnight for Chicago in Week 17.
A team that orchestrated six comebacks in the final two minutes came up just short, similar to the Week 14 loss to the Green Bay Packers. Fortunately, the loss matters little. While it felt like a playoff game, the Bears still have plenty to learn from and proved some more in the process.
Bears offense under Ben Johnson and Caleb Williams looked like a Super Bowl caliber unit
This offense is absolutely unbelievable. Marrying the run and pass game has finally come fully together for Johnson’s unit to the point the Bears can hit big shots out of the gate because defenses fear the run going into the game.
Chicago started the high-scoring affair with two explosive touchdowns to rookie wide receiver Luther Burden III and rookie tight end Colston Loveland.
After swinging big, Chicago went back to the body blows in the run game with D’Andre Swift and Kyle Monangai. Both rookies finished the game with 4.5+ yards per carry with Swift scoring two of the team’s four offensive touchdowns.
Then, it came down to the magic plays by quarterback Caleb Williams until things came up short on the final play. Williams can still clean up some of the gimmes though.
This offense is the real deal and catching fire at the perfect time. This loss doesn’t go on the offense, even if the game ended with the unit on the field.
Chicago’s defense has serious concerns when the takeaway well runs dry
The Bears defense started hot when cornerback Jaylon Johnson tipped the ball up for linebacker T.J. Edwards, who proceeded to run it 34-yards back for a touchdown on the opening play of the game.
The play extended the team’s league-leading takeaway and interception number and the Bears don’t keep things close without it, but what happened after that play for the rest of the game shows the true concern with this team in the playoffs.
When the splashy takeaway well runs dry, this defense can’t stop anyone, much less a top caliber offense the Bears will continue to face the rest of the way. San Francisco finished the game with 496 total yards, 32 first downs, and six touchdowns, dominating up and down the field through the air and on the ground.
As we’ve said all season, this pass rush is pathetic and when they’re not creating pressure, the secondary is getting diced up all over the field. Occasionally the Bears can dial up the perfect pressure and force a stop before breaking, but the big plays are killer and way to consistent against this unit. This defense failed to live up to the measuring stick on Sunday.
It’s not a sustainable method come playoff time, but we’ve said this all year too
Anyone can tell you that winning games late in close one-score games isn’t sustainable long-term. Yet, the Bears continue to do just that almost every single week.
When the lights get bright and the pressure is on, this team doesn’t blink. It’s a great sign to see from this team and most playoff games come down to the wire and are won by which team can do just that in a close game, but it’s hard to rely on that as the method to win. One blink at the wrong time in the playoffs can end your season, period.
While I want to believe the Bears can win these close games all the way to the end, Chicago can’t be viewed as a legit threat until they can flat out beat a team on both sides of the ball and that’s not going to be the case with the way this defense has played in 2025.
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Bears defensive back just made two assistant coaches smile without even doing anything on the field and it came at the most fitting time
Al Harris and Antwaan Randle El will be smiling watching the broadcast back after Week 17.
