Grades for 49ers' nail-biting win over Bears as defense bends, doesn't break

The 49ers and Chicago Bears treated a revved-up crowd at Levi’s Stadium and a national television audience to quite a show.Behind the arm of Brock Purdy and the legs of Christian McCaffrey, the 49ers held on for a 42-38 victory on Sunday night.And the 49ers’ defense did just enough to keep the Bears out of the end zone on their final two drives of the game to secure the epic win.The 49ers (12-4) take a six-game win streak into a huge Week 18 game against the Seattle Seahawks. The winner earns the NFC West title and home-field advantage in the NFC.Here is the report card from the 49ers’ Week 17 victory against the Bears:Rushing offenseMcCaffrey and the 49ers’ run game carried over the momentum they built in Week 16 against the Indianapolis Colts.McCaffrey was phenomenal, as he rushed for 140 yards and a touchdown on 23 attempts. CMC-ya later pic.twitter.com/aBzjAT6faW — 49ers on NBCS (&commat;NBCS49ers) December 29, 2025 The 49ers’ offensive line deserves much praise for opening lanes for McCaffrey and Brian Robinson, who added 22 yards on the ground.Purdy showed his scrambling ability with 28 yards and two touchdowns on the ground.Grade: APassing offensePurdy’s first pass attempt was intercepted and returned for a touchdown.His last pass attempt was a 38-yard touchdown pass to Jauan Jennings with 2:15 remaining that provided the winning points. BROCK HITS JAUAN OVER THE MIDDLE TO TAKE THE LEAD pic.twitter.com/G6qakwwwJV — 49ers on NBCS (&commat;NBCS49ers) December 29, 2025 After his rough start, Purdy continued his hot streak with 303 yards passing and three touchdowns. One of his highlight plays was a nifty 6-yard pass to Kyle Juszczyk on which he scrambled around and bought enough time to find his fullback all alone in the end zone.Ricky Pearsall had five receptions for 85 yards. Jake Tonges stepped in for injured George Kittle and contributed seven catches for 60 yards and a touchdown.Grade: ARushing defenseSan Francisco had a difficult time at the point of attack against the Chicago offensive line.The 49ers also had difficulty slowing down the Bears’ 1-2 punch at running back of D’Andre Swift and Kyle Monangai. Swift had 54 yards and two touchdowns on nine carries, while Monangai added 38 yards on eight attempts.The 49ers’ inside linebackers, Tatum Bethune and Dee Winters, combined for 18 tackles and two stops behind the line of scrimmage.Grade: C-plusPassing defenseThe pass rush could not get much pressure on quarterback Caleb Williams, and the 49ers’ coverage struggled against the Bears’ receivers and tight ends.But, ultimately, the 49ers did what they had to do in the fourth quarter. First, they held the Bears to a field goal deep in San Francisco territory. Then, the 49ers came up with the stop on the final play of the game. Got the stop when they needed it most pic.twitter.com/r6t1oxCzLi — 49ers on NBCS (&commat;NBCS49ers) December 29, 2025 Williams completed 25 of 42 passes for 330 yards with two touchdowns, no interceptions and a passer rating of 100.3.The 49ers’ defense stiffened as they kept Chicago out of the end zone on two of their three goal-to-go sequences.Grade: C-minusSpecial teamsThe 49ers finally called on punter Thomas Morstead for the first time this month. He averaged 40.5 yards on two punts, both of which pinned the Bears inside the 20-yard line.Eddy Piñeiro was good on all six of his extra-point attempts. Grade: BCoachingIt was a Kyle Shanahan masterclass in play design and play-calling. He set up McCaffrey and Purdy expertly to take advantage of areas of the Chicago defense that were vulnerable.Meanwhile, defensive coordinator Robert Saleh tried a lot of different things and ultimately found success in key situations with quarterback pressures.The defense came up with a couple of big stops late in the game to enable the 49ers to hold onto the victory.Grade: A-minusOverallThe 49ers did their part to set up a huge Week 18 game against the Seahawks for home-field advantage in the NFC.The offense carried the day, and the defense did just enough to keep the playoff-bound Bears out of the end zone in key situations.Grade: A-minusDownload and follow the 49ers Talk Podcast

Grades for 49ers’ nail-biting win over Bears as defense bends, doesn’t break

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