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.

The post Just Like the Wild West: 49ers Outlast Bears in 42-38 Shootout appeared first on KRUI Radio.

On a cold, flurry-filled day in Chicago, the Bears erased a ten-point deficit in the final minutes to defeat the New York Giants 24-20. The Bears now hold a 6-3 record, having won six of their last seven games. The Giants, on the other hand, are now a dismal 2-8, their fourth loss in a row, adding another blemish to a season that briefly looked full of promise. 

Being from Illinois and New York, both teams were more than familiar with bad weather conditions and adjusted their game plans accordingly. Even in a season with kickers nailing field goals from longer than ever,  no field goals would be kicked from great distances on this day. The Bears and Giants’ first drives ended identically, turning the ball over on downs. 

Chicago nailed the first punch as rookie Kyle Monagai, coming off a fantastic performance last week against Cincinnati, ran it in from eight yards out. 

New York would respond in kind with their rookie quarterback, Jaxson Dart, throwing back-to-back dimes to receiver Darius Slayton. This set up an easy 3-yard run from Dart to tie the game at 7.

New York Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart (6) scrambles to pass in the first quarter against the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field in Chicago, Illinois, on Sunday, November 9, 2025 (Patrick McDermott / Getty Images) 

The two teams continued to be dead even, as yet again, they both turned it over on downs. The Giants were stopped by a fantastic play from Bears’ safety Jaquan Brisker to prevent a touchdown. 

The Bears stopped themselves as running back D’Andre Swift let a pass bounce off his hands on fourth down, one of six drops for the team on the day. This mark is the most by any NFL team in a game this season. 

Adding to that total was defensive back Nahshon Wright, who dropped a gift of an interception in the endzone, allowing new Giants kicker Younghoe Koo to kick a 32-yard field goal and give the Giants a 10-7 lead at the halftime break. 

Even the defense had hands made of solid ice. 

The second half looked to be more of the same as a great special teams return from the Giants helped springboard another scoring drive ending in a Jaxson Dart touchdown run. 

After another Bears punt, the Giants were deep into opposing territory again looking to make it a three-possession game. But then, there was a sign of life. 

A big hit from defensive back C.J. Gardner-Johnson dislodged the ball from Dart’s grasp and Nahshon Wright recovered it to give Chicago possession. A timely turnover that could give the Bears a momentum shift. 

There was indeed a momentum shift, but it wasn’t necessarily because of the fumble, the Bears only managed three points off of it. The shift was concerning Dart’s health. He would be evaluated for a concussion and after two plays on the next drive, he would not return to the game. In came their backup quarterback, Russell Wilson, to close out the game.

He would guide New York all the way to Chicago’s one-yard line, but they opted to settle for a field goal rather go for the touchdown. Surely, they won’t need those four points later. 

After laying dormant for 55 minutes, the Bears woke up from their hibernation as they went on a 91-yard touchdown drive with Williams completing a pass to Odunze for the score. 

Despite the Giants seemingly being in full control the entire contest, they had just a three-point advantage with 3:56 to play. A three-and-out and shanked punt set up the Bears with the football at their own 47 with an opportunity to tie the game. 

Chicago Bears defensive back C.J. Gardner-Johnson (35) sacks New York Giants quarterback Russell Wilson (3) in the fourth quarter at Soldier Field in Chicago, Illinois, on Sunday, November 9, 2025 (Patrick McDermott / Getty Images) 

They didn’t tie the game though. They took it a step further. Williams scrambled for the end zone and gave Chicago a late 24-20 lead. Wilson and the Giants were stuffed on their final drive as the Bears, somehow and someway, secured another last-second win. 

Once again, this wasn’t a pretty win for the Chicago Bears, but it was a win nonetheless. Next week, they’ll have a rematch against the Vikings in Minnesota, a team that came from behind to beat them in Week 1. Will the Bears get revenge and continue their winning ways or will they fall in yet another divisional contest? There’s only one way to find out.

The post Finding a Way: Bears Come Back to Beat Giants, 24-20 appeared first on KRUI Radio.

At first, Chicago was playing well as they outgained Baltimore 125 to 8 in the first quarter. However, the offense stalled out in the red zone twice, a common occurrence this season, and they only managed to gain a 6-0 lead off of two Cairo Santos field goals. From then on, it was all Ravens as backup quarterback Tyler Huntley (not Lamar Jackson) sliced and diced the injured Bears’ secondary for two scoring drives to put them up 10-6 at the halftime break. 

Baltimore Ravens quarterback Tyler Huntley (5) drops back to pass against the Chicago Bears on Sunday, October 26, 2025, at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore, Maryland (Tommy Gilligan / Imagn Images).

Two more field goals from Ravens kicker Tyler Loop extended the lead to ten going into the fourth quarter as the Bears’ offense was completely out of sorts. Caleb Williams was missing throws, the running game couldn’t get going, and the frequent penalties continued to cost them.

At the beginning of the fourth quarter, the Bears finally punched back with an 83-yard touchdown drive, capped off by a D’Andre Swift touchdown run to make it 16-13. After this, the defense clamped down and forced the rolling Ravens to punt. Surely this was the moment that Chicago would seize momentum and take back control of the game. 

Chicago Bears running back D’Andre Swift (4) runs against the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday, October 26, 2025, at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore, Maryland (Tommy Gilligan / Imagn Images).

Wrong. Williams picked a bad time to throw an interception to Ravens cornerback Nate Wiggins, which set up a touchdown pass to tight end Charlie Kolar to extend the lead back to ten. The Bears did manage to score a field goal on their next drive, but couldn’t keep the Ravens off the field, allowing Derrick Henry to run for his second touchdown of the game. Funnily enough, these two touchdowns helped Henry surpass legendary Bears running back Walter Payton for fifth-most rushing touchdowns of all time with 112. 

Chicago did have one last gasp of hope off a circus catch from D.J. Moore, but that drive also stalled out in the red zone, sealing the 30-16 defeat. In a game where the team could’ve made a statement and kept themselves in the mix for the NFC Playoff race down the road, they instead played like they were the old Bears again. 

Commentators Ian Eagle and J.J. Watt made frequent mention of the Bears’ league-leading takeaway numbers and how they anticipated that a timely pick or fumble would get them right back in it… but the takeaway never came. This game brought up the question of how the team would fare if the defense didn’t manage to get an absurd number of takeaways; the answer is not well. The Bears are now 0-3 when the defense fails to force four turnovers, definitely not a recipe for success. 

While it is true that Chicago had a litany of injuries in both the secondary and on the defensive line, there is still no excuse for getting picked apart by a backup quarterback and the offense doing very little to help. All season, fans have been waiting for Williams to take that leap forward, and it just hasn’t happened yet. They’ll have a good chance next week as they travel to play the Cincinnati Bengals, who just allowed the New York Jets to score 39 points in their first win of the season. Does this mean that the Bears will get back on track and set the world on fire? Probably not, but it would be pretty cool if they did. 

The post Back Down to Earth: Bears fall to Ravens, 30-16 appeared first on KRUI Radio.