Bears Film Study declares a winner in NFC quarterback battle
This game provided a strong clue about what's standing in the way of the Bears getting to the Super Bowl, either this season or in the very near future.
Which NFC West quarterback presents the toughest challenge? Seattle's Sam Darnold? The Rams' 37-year-old Matthew Stafford? No, the answer is most likely Brock Purdy, younger and already a proven winner. He didn't have all his weapons, but more than held his own in a scramble-off against Caleb Williams on Sunday night.
That's not to say the Bears are a lock to reach the NFC title game. We already saw how close they were to losing at home to Green Bay, the likely first-round opponent.
But the guess here is that San Francisco is the team to beat, and will probably be for a few more years. Plenty of small details could have flipped the result from the 49ers' action-packed 42-38 win. At the end of the day, Purdy made a couple more plays than Williams did, though 330 yards and no turnovers was a nice showing from the Bears' perspective.
The touchdown where Purdy scrambled, started to run, then stopped and dumped a pass to Kyle Juszczyk in the end zone — not many quarterbacks can make that play. There was a more subtle version on the go-ahead drive in the fourth quarter, when Purdy got pressure, danced in the pocket and found tight end Jake Tonges to convert a third-and-six.
Williams is amazing at escaping pressure. Escaping pressure and then making something happen downfield is where there's room to grow. The last two Bears losses (SF and at Green Bay) ended with Williams unable to make a competitive throw into the end zone while scrambling to his left. Again, try to scramble right, if possible, where he's much more comfortable.
Williams isn't to blame for the final play. The 49ers were sending pressure all through the Bears' last drive. On the final snap from the 2, they faked pressure and dropped off. D'Andre Swift motioning to the left was supposed to draw eyeballs and open up something in the middle — that's where Williams was looking. But when the Niners dropped everyone back, all he saw was a mash of red jerseys.
Williams had one chance on that play, a high lob to Colston Loveland along the back line. It was there; he should have seen it, but didn't throw the ball.
There were a couple of times earlier in the game when Williams missed chances to turn the momentum. On their first drive, the Bears faced a third-and-five. Williams didn't get pressured; he had Loveland pop open on a tight end delay, but he didn't wait for it. When Loveland opened up, Williams was looking at Swift in the flat, and that wasn't open. When Williams scrambled, he didn't see Jahdae Walker crossing in front of him until it was too late — time to punt.
Another chance was late in the first half. On second-and-seven, Loveland was open for a first down, but the pass sailed high. Then on third down, Williams had no chance because the 49ers lined up edge Keion White over center, and Drew Dalman gave up a blow-by. The Bears missed a nice chance there to tie the game before halftime.
Williams will get better. This is his second season, compared to Purdy's fifth. Whether he'll start seeing the field well enough to create off-schedule big plays might be the difference between very good and legendary.
Roster battle
One overall observation is San Francisco is loaded with talent. Tonges isn't much of a drop off from the injured George Kittle. It was a positive sign for the Bears to have a chance to win while missing key pieces like Kyler Gordon and Rome Odunze.
In future matchups, stopping 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey seems virtually impossible. San Francisco lost 12-time Pro Bowl left tackle Trent Williams after one snap Sunday. The replacement, Austen Pleasants, had played just 12 offensive snaps heading into this game, and allowed the only sack by either team, to Austin Booker.
The problem was, the right side of San Francisco's offensive line is really good with guard Dominick Puni and tackle Colton McKivitz. On the 49ers' third touchdown, the 5-yard sweep by McCaffrey, McKivitz managed to jump to the outside shoulder of Montez Sweat, turn around and set the edge.
Key sequencing
On the Bears' third touchdown drive, Kyle Monangai broke through the line and had one man to beat. But Niners safety Ji'Ayir Brown managed to make the tackle from his knees.
The very next play, Monangai caught a swing pass, again found himself one-on-one against Brown in space, and faked him to the ground for an 11-yard gain.
The next snap was the offsides touchdown to Colston Loveland. For this play, the Bears sent Theo Benedet onto the field as a sixth offensive lineman. Except, he was actually the third tight end and went out for a pass while Loveland scored.
Quick hitters
Generally, there's no point in worrying about penalty flags, but the illegal contact called against C.J. Gardner-Johnson on his end zone interception in the second quarter gets a vote here for worst of the year. Just baffling. … Bears special teams player of the game — Travis Homer, easily, even though he was called for holding on one kickoff return. …
Hat tip to the ankle-breaking move by 49ers receiver Ricky Pearsall in the first quarter. He cut inside, reversed quickly to the outside, and sent Nahshon Wright to the turf on a 30-yard catch.