Four seconds left, just two yards away.
Bears quarterback Caleb Williams stood tall in the backfield, awaiting the snap. His team trailed by four, needing a touchdown to escape with victory.
Williams led his offense down the field, he’d made jaws drop all game and all season. He needed one more of those magician-like moments.
The 24-year-old flipped the weathered pigskin in his hands, searching for somebody in the endzone. He scrambled. He waved his receivers left and right. He retreated. He fired.
The entire city of Chicago held their breath as they watched watched it sail through the air, kicking up dirt as it fell a yard short of the hands of Jahdae Walker, a near miracle in San Francisco.
42-38.
Bear, down.
THE LEADUP
Before this game even kicked off, the Bears had already jumped over the first couple of hurdles ahead of them.
With their jaw-dropping win over Green Bay last week and Detroit’s controversial loss to Pittsburgh, Chicago had clinched their spot in the 2025 playoff dance. Even further, Derrick “King” Henry ran all over the Packers on Saturday night, and the NFC North belonged to the Windy City’s beloved Bears for the first time in seven years.
It was already a fantastic year, surpassing the expectations of even the most optimistic of fans. But the Bears weren’t done yet. They still had a chance at the No. 1 seed and a date out west with San Francisco, an equally strong opponent also vying for first place.
FIRST HALF
The game started with a bang as Bears linebacker T.J. Edwards intercepted the first pass from 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy taking it all the way to the house on the game’s opening play.
“You could really feel the sideline come alive,” Bears head coach Ben Johnson said after the game.
It was the perfect start for his team and would certainly be a sign of fantastic defense to come in this game.
This sign turned out to be a lie as San Francisco scored two touchdowns in quick succession to take a 14-7 lead. So much for the perfect start.
San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy (13) throws a pass against the Chicago Bears during the second quarter of the game on Sunday, December 28, 2025, at Levi’s Stadium in San Francisco, California (Thearon W. Henderson / Getty Images).
Chicago wasn’t going to back down, though. Williams launched a perfect deep ball into the endzone to rookie receiver Luther Burden III for his second touchdown of the season.
All game, a non-stop nail-biting competition.
49ers running back Christian McCaffrey ran one in on the next drive. Williams threw another deep bomb to tight end Colston Loveland for a free-play score. Purdy scored another rushing touchdown.
The game was a scoring bonanza. The 49ers faithful were buzzing. These offenses were smacking the defenses around like a tetherball as the 49ers had a 28-21 lead…at halftime.
The over/under before the game was 51.5, in case you were wondering.
SECOND HALF
After halftime, the shootout continued. A two-yard run from Chicago running back D’Andre Swift tied the game at 28, keeping the pressure on San Francisco.
But Purdy was cool, calm. Cool enough in fact to turn into MC Hammer one drive. Bears defenders couldn’t touch him, he made magic with his feet, and he found fullback Kyle Juszczyk in the endzone for an easy touchdown.
Purdy danced his way back to the sideline, deservedly so, knowing he just made Chicago’s defense look foolish.
Once again, it was up to Chicago’s offense to carry the load, and they did so in kind. Swift scampered for another touchdown that tied the game at 35. The fireworks were never-ending.
Chicago Bears running back D’Andre Swift (4) scores a touchdown against the San Francisco 49ers during the fourth quarter of the game on Sunday, December 28, 2025, at Levi’s Stadium in San Francisco, California (Kyle Terada / Imagn-Images).
But there was a brief pause.
The fireworks jammed.
The Bears’ defense finally got a stop, giving the ball back to their guys on offense. Though only mustering a field goal, they took their first lead since 15 seconds into the first quarter.
The 49ers took advantage of this shortcoming as Purdy fired a pass to wide-open receiver Jauan Jennings, who ran 38 yards for the go-ahead score with 2:15 to play.
This situation wasn’t new to Chicago. They’re the Cardiac Bears, specializing in giving their fans heart attacks before pulling out an improbable win.
A few completions and scrambles from Williams got them deep into 49er territory, but they soon faced a 4th and 5 at their 26 with the game in the balance.
Williams found a wide-open Loveland to pick up the first down, and two plays later, he found Loveland again, who lateraled the ball to Swift and ran for a crucial first down a couple of yards away from the goal line.
And now here they were again. A chance to win it from the two yard line.
Williams dropped back and immediately felt pressure to his left. He made the defensive end miss and scrambled to his left to find a receiver. Looking, looking, looking. Another 49er defender ran at him, screaming. He had to get rid of it.
He tossed a prayer to the endzone… and it wasn’t answered. It fell just short of receiver Jahdae Walker’s grasp into the Levi’s Stadium grass.
Game over.
Bears and 49ers both lay down on the field, exhausted from their duel that just took place. The Bears gave it all they had and came up just short.
“Gotta be on top of your mess, and we just weren’t,” Coach Johnson remarked after the game.
His players had plenty of chances to win and just didn’t take advantage.
Williams and Purdy both balled out, with the former throwing for 330 yards and a pair of scores, while the latter had 303 yards for three touchdowns through the air and two more on the ground. A true battle of gunslingers.
Both fan bases likely had the same thoughts after their match. Those being, “Man, this offense is amazing!” and “Man, this defense is terrible!” Regardless of feeling, both teams were locked into the postseason. And if fate allows, they may play each other again in a few short weeks.
THE FUTURE
Chicago has just one more game on the schedule for this regular season, a home game against its divisional foe, the Detroit Lions, a team already eliminated from playoff contention.
At this point, many teams rest their starters. But if you don’t know Ben Johnson yet, you never will. He lost to his team earlier this year, 52-21. Ouch. So this is not just a seeding battle, but a revenge tour.
“We’re playing to win this week,” he said.
Of course the team is still dealing with nagging injuries to key players such as receiver Rome Odunze and defensive back Kyler Gordon, so the fanbase may not see every star on the field.
They say that you need luck in the playoffs. Especially when you want to make a deep run. The Bears have picked up some of that luck all season. But they’ve also shown great promise, this game being another example. If the offense keeps firing on all cylinders and the defense can get something together, this team might just have a chance at that miracle run.
