Week 17: Bears at 49ers Sunday SNF 7;20 on NBC

[UMFan83]

6 minutes ago, Old Style said:

It sucks to lose that game but I can’t be too upset. We traded blows with one of the best teams in the conference. And while it wasn’t his best statistical game, to me this was the most complete game I remember Caleb playing. His deep ball accuracy has improved so much already. 

I was a little gutted after the game because of how close we got but overall I came into the game not sweating it too much and found myself getting over it pretty quickly afterwards.  Can't win every game in the final seconds and even in failure, they drove the entire length of the field and were 2 yards from completing the comeback yet again.

[gflore34]

4 minutes ago, UMFan83 said:

I was a little gutted after the game because of how close we got but overall I came into the game not sweating it too much and found myself getting over it pretty quickly afterwards.  Can't win every game in the final seconds and even in failure, they drove the entire length of the field and were 2 yards from completing the comeback yet again.

I came away thinking how great it is to have a QB, HC and offense that'll give them a chance in every close game.  Remembering the dark days of Fields' largely pitiful attempts in close games and glad they're over.

[Soul]

I know the Bears D is full of holes, but the way the 49ers are hitting seams quickly, coupling that with the run game and a true game-changer like McCaffrey, they are likely the offensive best team in the NFC, or right there with the Rams.  It's their defense that could hurt them.  But that O is clicking, no doubt.  Even teams with a pass rush will struggle because there aren't that many drop back passes where EDGE can T up.  I came away thinking BJ is every bit living up to his hype because he's trading blow for blow in his first year with an established system like the 9ers.

Edited December 29, 2025 by Soul

[minnesotacubsfan]

Just now, Soul said:

I know the Bears D is full of holes, but the way the 49ers are hitting seams quickly, coupling that with the run game and a true game-changer like McCaffrey, on offense they are likely the best team in the NFC, or right there with the Rams.  It's their defense that could hurt them.  But that O is clicking, no doubt.  Even teams with a pass rush will struggle because there aren't that many drop back passes where EDGE can T up.  I came away thinking BJ is every bit living up to his hype because he's trading blow for blow in his first year with an established system like the 9ers.

a stud 3 tech is the way to disrupt the quick passing game, immediate pressure right up the middle

[gflore34]

1 minute ago, Soul said:

I know the Bears D is full of holes, but the way the 49ers are hitting seams quickly, coupling that with the run game and a true game-changer like McCaffrey, on offense they are likely the best team in the NFC, or right there with the Rams.  It's their defense that could hurt them.  But that O is clicking, no doubt.  Even teams with a pass rush will struggle because there aren't that many drop back passes where EDGE can T up.  I came away thinking BJ is every bit living up to his hype because he's trading blow for blow in his first year with an established system like the 9ers.

Maybe, I think the Seahawks are going to lite up the scoreboard on them next week, may come down to who ever has the ball last wins.  I also think Purdy will turn the ball over now and then.

[minnesotacubsfan]

1 minute ago, gflore34 said:

Maybe, I think the Seahawks are going to lite up the scoreboard on them next week, may come down to who ever has the ball last wins.  I also think Purdy will turn the ball over now and then.

yea, Purdy has been very good the last few weeks, but i dont think hes that great. he can quickly committ turnovers

 

[NorthsideAvenger]

It's feel like the playoffs is going to be about the offense. 

[gflore34]

18 minutes ago, minnesotacubsfan said:

yea, Purdy has been very good the last few weeks, but i dont think hes that great. he can quickly committ turnovers

 

I think he's a true system QB, Shanahan, along with a handful of others, represent the few systems in which he can excel.  I think BJ and MLF are among the few who could probably find success with Purdy as well.

[CubinNY]

38 minutes ago, NorthsideAvenger said:

It's feel like the playoffs is going to be about the offense. 

Ya think? The D just needs to make some stops or force field goals. 

[gflore34]

5 minutes ago, CubinNY said:

Ya think? The D just needs to make some stops or force field goals. 

I'll settle for forcing some field goals, I think it a realistic goal with this defense.  Getting some stops just isn't a realistic goal with this bunch.

Edited December 29, 2025 by gflore34

[Derwood]

The D not being able to get off the field is a problem. Even in games where they held the opponent to FG attempts, it's a problem. 

[minnesotacubsfan]

I don’t think Johnson was targeted after the first play, was he?

[BigSlick]

I probably felt better about the team after the loss more than anything. They went blow for blow with one of the best teams in the NFC on the road and the offense and Caleb are legit. The defense is crap but that’s nothing new. 
 

re: Purdy, I get being frustrated with the love he was getting from Collinsworth over Caleb, it’s horsefeathers ridiculous. But at the same time, he is horsefeathers good. The disrespect he gets is pretty ridiculous at this point. He’s accurate as hell, he gives his receivers tremendous opportunity for YAC, he doesn’t take a lot of sacks. He’s had some injuries the last couple years but he’s a legit good Qb. 

[Banedon]

Easy to say after the fact, but if the offense was out of sorts for that final play, I wonder if they'd have been better off taking a delay of game to get it right.

[bjam12]

30 minutes ago, Banedon said:

Easy to say after the fact, but if the offense was out of sorts for that final play, I wonder if they'd have been better off taking a delay of game to get it right.

Or Caleb just taking the snap and spiking it immediately. 

[sweetpeteman]

11 minutes ago, bjam12 said:

Or Caleb just taking the snap and spiking it immediately. 

Would've been intentional grounding, which would result in a 10 second run off. Spiking for clock stoppage has to be done from T formation. 

 

He wouldve had to spike it at the feet of a receiver  which with only 4 seconds is risky.

Edited December 29, 2025 by sweetpeteman

[raw]

1 hour ago, minnesotacubsfan said:

I don’t think Johnson was targeted after the first play, was he?

I think they tried once when he was covering Pearsall (who destroyed Nahshon all day). 

[raw]

4 hours ago, PackLandVA said:

I'm no capologist, but doesn't DJ Moore have more dead cap if he's cut/traded than if he stays? Spotrac shows a cap hit of $28.5 million and a dead cap of $35.4 million. I guess they could always play the June 1 game.

I'm no capologist either, but he can be traded and save the Bears cap space. Pre-June 1, they'd have a 12M dead hit (16.5M savings), post June 1, they'd have 4M dead (with 24.5M in savings). 

[BigSlick]

A thought I just had is we probably win this game if half of our players aren’t sick with the flu.

 

interesting thing to think about is how hard they try to win next week. It’s not meaningless, a win could be the difference between the 2 and 3 seed, but at the same time we have some banged up players and if we’re gonna sit a handful of important players in a less-than-necessary game, you may as well just sit everyone important. I would hate to lose a player to injury in that game, but also… hmmm… it’s not so simple. 

[Soul]

1 hour ago, BigSlick said:

I probably felt better about the team after the loss more than anything. They went blow for blow with one of the best teams in the NFC on the road and the offense and Caleb are legit. The defense is crap but that’s nothing new. 
 

re: Purdy, I get being frustrated with the love he was getting from Collinsworth over Caleb, it’s horsefeathers ridiculous. But at the same time, he is horsefeathers good. The disrespect he gets is pretty ridiculous at this point. He’s accurate as hell, he gives his receivers tremendous opportunity for YAC, he doesn’t take a lot of sacks. He’s had some injuries the last couple years but he’s a legit good Qb. 

He’s a solid QB especially in that system.  Absolutely can be a guy that wins the Super Bowl.  The weird criticism Collinsworth was giving Caleb?  I was mentally turning him off.  His color isn’t providing a ton of value to me.  When he goes off on a QB who didn’t make a play that most QBs can’t even get a throw off, it’s not worth the brain cells.

[raw]

I heard a good argument that I'm buying as a good reason to play everyone that's healthy.

Basically it boiled down to this team has never been to the playoffs. So you have them resting for something they don't even know what to expect. I think it's a different story if you're the Packers, Eagles, maybe the Niners (though they missed last year), Rams, or Lions (if they were in) that has been in a couple years in a row. But the Bears current players haven't experienced the playoffs for the most part. So, you're already making it a bigger deal than it needs to be by resting guys and throwing off their routine. Plus, this team could use the reps on offense, while needing a bounce back, against a good offense, on defense.

Also, you don't sit the starters against THIS team. Maybe if it was Minnesota or even Green Bay (and you lost close games the way you did the 1st time against them), but this is a team that put 50 on you at the beginning of the season and had the crowd chanting "F Ben Johnson". The teams are going in opposite directions right now and I think you step on their throats as a division foe. And you know Ben isn't letting his exes off the hook. 

 

[Soul]

10 minutes ago, raw said:

I heard a good argument that I'm buying as a good reason to play everyone that's healthy.

Basically it boiled down to this team has never been to the playoffs. So you have them resting for something they don't even know what to expect. I think it's a different story if you're the Packers, Eagles, maybe the Niners (though they missed last year), Rams, or Lions (if they were in) that has been in a couple years in a row. But the Bears current players haven't experienced the playoffs for the most part. So, you're already making it a bigger deal than it needs to be by resting guys and throwing off their routine. Plus, this team could use the reps on offense, while needing a bounce back, against a good offense, on defense.

Also, you don't sit the starters against THIS team. Maybe if it was Minnesota or even Green Bay (and you lost close games the way you did the 1st time against them), but this is a team that put 50 on you at the beginning of the season and had the crowd chanting "F Ben Johnson". The teams are going in opposite directions right now and I think you step on their throats as a division foe. And you know Ben isn't letting his exes off the hook. 

 

I’m convinced the starters are playing.  What if the truly bizarre happens and Washington is up 3TDs at halftime?  Then the outcome of the game doesn’t matter.  It’s the NFL.  Weird stuff happens.

Edited December 29, 2025 by Soul

[PackLandVA]

There is a significant difference, IMO, between the #2 and #3 seed, so if I'm the Bears, I play to win Sunday. 

That said, the Packers played the Bears in the last week of the season, and their seed was already determined.  WR Christian Watson blew out his knee in a non-contact play. There's a risk for any player every single play.

[Derwood]

 

Can't speak to the legitimacy of the source

[Wilson A2000]

17 minutes ago, Derwood said:

 

Can't speak to the legitimacy of the source

She’s very legit. Let’s hope no one gets injured.