49ers defender reveals multiple players went off-script to defend against Bears QB Caleb Williams on the final play of Week 17
Too bad the Bears managed to beat themselves first on that play.
The Chicago Bears gave it their all on Sunday night against the San Francisco 49ers, going blow-for-blow all the way up to the final play.
However, Chicago’s potential game-winning drive stalled out on fourth-down as time expired. The Bears had a few questionable decisions within the final plays, but head coach Ben Johnson took for responsibility for all that, including the miscommunication on the final play.
“We didn’t quite get aligned in the formation we wanted to,” Johnson said after the game. “It’s on me. I didn’t get the call in fast enough. So, [quarterback Caleb Williams] is trying to piecemeal it together. I gotta do a better job.”
Chicago still managed to run the play, but you can tell everyone was out of sync with a free rusher coming through, forcing Williams to bail to his left and ultimately throwing an incompletion. But, what about the mindset from the other team.
Caleb Williams’ advanced stats
- Adjusted EPA/play: 19th
- Success rate: 28th
- Completion percentage over expectation: 33rd
- Air yards: 10th
49ers player admits to going off-script with the intention of stopping Caleb Williams
The 49ers, backed up in their own end zone, saw the discombobulation from the Bears and it was a good call by 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan letting things play out, but it turns out some players went off-script from what defensive coordinator Robert Saleh dialed up.
“Me and Dee [Winters] were supposed to be on a blitz,” 49ers middle linebacker Tatum Bethune said on the KNBR 680 postgame show. “We dropped out because we knew what they were capable of and we just wanted to put some extra heads in the throwing lane and make Caleb run around and waste the time out, and that’s what he did.”
It was a good heads-up call by the 49ers. While the blitz might have hit home based on the miscommunication with the protection, Williams is also a magician at avoiding sacks and could have potentially found an open man.
Instead, the 49ers dropped out and closed all the passing lanes for Williams, not even giving him the chance to put the ball in play for his pass-catchers.
“We had a shot and I just gotta give my guys a shot in that situation,” Williams said. “I think I ended up dirt’ing the ball, didn’t get my legs into it, and just [need] to put the ball in the end zone in that moment. [I] can’t dirt the ball.”
When asked about the play again on Monday, Johnson noted that Williams did what he could to “make chicken salad out of it” and clearly Johnson is still beating himself up over the presnap process issues. Regardless, Bethune’s comments showed the players had a lot of respect for Williams.
49ers clearly had a lot of respect for Caleb Williams after Week 17 game
“Caleb, I feel like he’s one of, if not the best, outside the pocket passing quarterbacks,” 49ers safety Ji’Ayir Brown added after the game. “Man, when he gets on the move, man he can throw it as if he’s standing still, on the move. I feel like he’s the driving force of that offense and he’s definitely one of the better quarterbacks in this game when it comes to that.”
This is far from the first time this season, or last season, that Williams received high praise after the game from his opponents on the field and opposing coaches on the sidelines. The league is starting to figure out how dangerous he can be with Chicago.
Williams, outside of the last play, got the better of this defense throwing for 330 yards with two touchdowns, no sacks, and no turnovers. It’s likely these two teams could face off again at some point in the NFC playoffs and next time the 49ers would have a better idea of what to expect.
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