When the 49ers have the ball
San Francisco’s offense has been red hot of late. Since their Week 14 bye, the 49ers have scored 85 points in back-to-back wins over the Titans and Colts while becoming the first NFL team to not punt in back-to-back games since at least 1950.
The unit is led by four Pro Bowlers in quarterback Brock Purdy, running back Christian McCaffrey, tight end George Kittle and fullback Kyle Juszczyk.
Purdy is the reigning NFC offensive player of the week after throwing a career-high five touchdown passes last Monday night in Indianapolis. It was the most TD passes by a 49ers quarterback since Hall of Famer Steve Young had six in San Francisco’s 49-26 win over the Chargers in Super Bowl XXIX Jan. 29, 1995.
Purdy will make his sixth straight start Sunday night after missing the previous six games and eight overall with a toe injury. He has thrown for exactly 295 yards in each of his last two outings with eight total TDs, one interception and a 136.1 passer rating.
McCaffrey leads the NFL with 372 touches this season, 43 more than any other player. He tops the league with 108 first downs, is second with 1,888 yards from scrimmage and is third with 16 TDs. He has rushed for 1,039 yards and nine TDs on 280 carries and leads all running backs with 92 receptions for 849 yards and seven TDs.
Kittle is second on the 49ers with 52 catches for 599 yards and seven TDs after amassing a season-high 115 yards against the Colts. He is listed as questionable and is expected to be a game-time decision due to an ankle injury he suffered in Indianapolis.
Receiver Jauan Jennings leads the 49ers with eight TD receptions, including at least one in each of the last four games.
Niners coach Kyle Shanahan is the architect of San Francisco’s potent offense.
“Shanahan is one of the best, if not the best, in the business in terms of doing this, calling plays at a high level for as long as he has,” said Bears coach Ben Johnson. “He’s probably the first to truly marry that run game and pass game as well as you see some of these other teams doing it now, he was kind of the front-runner on all that stuff. You always like to turn on that San Francisco tape each week, whether you’re playing them or not, just to look at some of the stuff that they’re doing. And it’s changed a little bit. It used to be where they were always the No. 1 team in the NFL in terms of rushing, and it’s not to say they don’t still have that ability — they do — but it’s kind of morphed a little bit. They might be a more dangerous passing team right now. That’s kind of the interesting thing.”
The Bears counter with a defense that leads the NFL with 31 takeaways and 21 interceptions. This season they are 9-0 when they generate multiple turnovers and 2-4 when they create one or none. One of those wins came last Saturday night when they produced one takeaway versus the Packers.
Kevin Byard III leads the NFL with six interceptions and Nahshon Wright tops the league with eight takeaways; he’s tied for first with three fumble recoveries and tied for second with five interceptions. Wright (hamstring/illness), however, is among four defenders who are questionable for Sunday night’s game. The others are linebacker T.J. Edwards (glute) and defensive backs C.J. Gardner-Johnson (knee) and Josh Blackwell (illness).
Key matchup: Bears defensive end Montez Sweat vs. 49ers right tackle Colton McKivitz
With a team-leading 9.5 sacks, Sweat is closing in on the second double-digit sack season of his career. He has recorded 8.5 sacks in his last 10 games and will spearhead a pass rush against Purdy and a potent 49ers offense. Sweat will be opposed by McKivitz, a sixth-year pro who has started all 49 games the past three seasons.
Fun facts
- The Bears have won six games this season in which they trailed in the final two minutes of regulation, the most by any team since the NFL/AFL merger in 1970.
- Williams has passed for at least 240 yards and two TDs with no interceptions in back-to-back games the past two weeks for the first time this season. He has also thrown multiple TD passes in three straight contests for the first time this year.
- The Bears have generated a takeaway in eight straight games, the longest active streak in the NFL.
- The Bears have not allowed a score on their opponents’ first possession in four straight games and in 13 of 15 contests this season. The 10 points they’ve permitted on opening drives this year are the fewest in the NFL.
- The Bears and 49ers have alternated winning their last nine meetings with the Bears winning in 2014, 2016, 2018 and 2022 and losing in 2012, 2015, 2017, 2021 and 2024.
