The Other McCain

"One should either write ruthlessly what one believes to be the truth, or else shut up." — Arthur Koestler

Game of the Year!

Posted on | December 29, 2025 | No Comments

Brock Purdy spots Kyle Kyle Juszczyk (44) in the end zone.

If you weren’t watching Sunday night’s game between the San Francisco 49ers and the Chicago Bears, you missed on of the greatest games in NFL history. Both teams came into this Week 17 matchup with a shot at the No. 1 seed in the conference (which includes a first-round bye and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs). The Bears had already clinched the NFC North division title, while the NFC West was still a three-way battle between the 49ers, the Seattle Seahawks and the L.A. Rams.

As regular readers know, I became a 49ers fan this year after they acquired my man Mac Jones as their backup quarterback. That turned out to be a great deal for both Mac and San Francisco, after Niners QB Brock Purdy suffered a “turf toe” injury in the season-opener against Seattle. Jones ended up starting eight games for San Francisco, compiling a 5-3 record — including a crucial OT victory over the Rams in Week 5 — and redeeming his reputation after getting benched in New England and then spending a season as Trevor Lawrence’s backup in Jacksonville. By the time Purdy was ready to return from his injury in Week 11, the 49ers had a 6-4 record and since then, they have now won six in a row after holding off Chicago in the prime time thriller Sunday night:

Brock Purdy and the San Francisco offense did everything they could for the first 58 minutes in a nearly flawless performance. At the end, they were just spectators when the beleaguered defense finally came through with a stop.
Purdy threw a 38-yard touchdown pass to Jauan Jennings with 2:15 left, and the 49ers forced an incomplete pass on the final play from the 2 to beat the Chicago Bears 42-38 on Sunday night and set up a Week 18 showdown for the top seed in the NFC.
Caleb Williams drove the Bears (11-5) down the field in the closing seconds and had one last shot for the win. But Bryce Huff forced him out of the pocket and his throw short-hopped Jahdae Walker in the end zone to seal a sixth straight victory for the 49ers (12-4).
“For them to finish out the game like that, I was so happy for them. I was sitting there not being able to do anything but watch,” Purdy said. “To be able to celebrate was a cool team win. There’s nothing like that. It was pretty special.”
That gave the 49ers a chance to win the NFC West and get a bye by beating Seattle (13-3) in the season finale on Saturday night. A win would give San Francisco home-field advantage and a chance to stay home all postseason, with the Super Bowl set to be played at Levi’s Stadium on Feb. 8.
“We’ve earned this,” coach Kyle Shanahan said. “This is the game we want. We love that it’s here. We have an opportunity to never leave here again this year.”
The loss ends the Bears’ hopes of earning the top seed. Chicago has already clinched the NFC North and can earn the No. 2 seed by beating Detroit next Sunday.
Purdy followed his career-high five TD-pass performance last week against Indianapolis by throwing for three scores and running for two to become the sixth player since the AFL-NFL merger with back-to-back games with at least five touchdowns.
Purdy finished 24 for 33 for 303 yards, while Christian McCaffrey ran for 140 yards and a score and added 41 more receiving.
Williams went 25 for 42 for 330 yards and two TDs but couldn’t deliver at the end after already leading the Bears to an NFL-record six comeback wins after trailing in the final two minutes of regulation.
“It’s frustrating,” Williams said. “You don’t want to lose a game ever. And then also, in that position, having a shot at the end is all you can ask for on this moment.”
Neither defense could slow down the opposing offense for most of the night after a pick-6 by Chicago’s T.J. Edwards on the first play. The Niners led 28-21 at halftime.
The teams then traded touchdowns on the first three drives of the second half, with D’Andre Swift scoring on two runs for Chicago and Purdy delivering a highlight-reel play for San Francisco. He rolled to his right on a play from the 6, eluded two pass rushers and then flipped an easy TD pass to Kyle Juszczyk on a play that lasted longer than 8 seconds.
“I was hoping he’d throw it away and we’d have a couple more downs,” Shanahan said. “Then I started watching him like every fan does. He made me extremely nervous and then he made my extremely happy.”
The Bears finally forced a punt and went ahead 38-35 on a short field goal by Cairo Santos with 5:22 to play when they couldn’t convert on third down in the red zone.
The Bears’ opportunistic defense struck on the first play when Edwards caught a deflected pass and returned it 34 yards for Chicago’s first defensive score on the opening play in at least 45 years, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
“It was early in the game so you do have to flush it and be ready to play a whole game after that,” Purdy said.
Purdy answered his big mistake to start the game with a 65-yard touchdown drive capped by a 1-yard pass to Jake Tonges, and San Francisco moved the ball with ease all half.
Purdy added two touchdown runs and McCaffrey also scored on the ground to give the 49ers a 28-21 lead at the break despite allowing two deep TD passes by Williams.

That’s just two of the many incredible plays during this game. When your quarterback throws a pick-six on the first play from scrimmage, you figure you’re in for a long night, but after that screw-up, Purdy gave a nearly flawless performance. Still, it was just barely enough to beat Chicago. I’d been skeptical of Caleb Williams as the No. 1 draft pick two years ago, but what he did Sunday night erased my doubts. The kid can play. However, this year’s Niners are a team of destiny. They have struggled through devastating injuries, with two future Hall of Fame defenders — edge rusher Nick Bosa and middle linebacker Fred Warner — both going out with season-ending injuries. San Francisco defensive coordinator Robert Saleh deserves kudos for being able to cobble together a defense with a bunch of rookies and third-stringers.

Yes, yes it was the game of the year, and it sets up the regular-sesaon finale against the Seahawks with the No. 1 seed at stake. Keep in mind, this year’s Super Bowl will be played at the Niners’ home field, Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara. If San Francisco beats Seattle, they would get a week off during the Wild Card round (January 10-12), and then have home-field advantage all the way, including the Super Bowl.

Thrilling — and I’m all-in on this saga because my guy Mac Jones got grabbed as the backup QB. Certainly hope Brock Purdy stays healthy. Wouldn’t want to risk Mac having to come in and play hero again.



 

Category: Football

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