49ers Narrowly Defeat Bears 42-38, Maintain NFC No. 1 Seed Hopes on Dec 28, 2025
On December 28, 2025, the San Francisco 49ers edged the Chicago Bears 42-38 at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California, keeping their hopes alive for the NFC No. 1 seed. A win over Seattle in Week 18 would clinch the top seed for the 49ers.
Brock Purdy was instrumental with five total touchdowns—three passing and two rushing—completing 24 of 33 passes for 303 yards with one interception, along with an additional 28 rushing yards. Christian McCaffrey contributed 181 yards from scrimmage, including 140 rushing yards on 23 carries with a rushing touchdown.
The Bears started strong with safety T.J. Edwards opening the scoring by returning an interception for a touchdown off Jauan Jennings. However, a critical penalty on Bears defensive back C.J. Gardner-Johnson negated a second-quarter interception by Ricky Pearsall. Purdy capitalized two plays later with a 3-yard rushing touchdown, giving the 49ers a 28-21 halftime lead. Gardner-Johnson voiced strong criticism of the call, describing it as the play’s outcome.
Purdy later connected with Jake Tonges for a scoring play to tie the game in the first quarter, with Tonges stepping in for the injured George Kittle. Chicago quarterback Caleb Williams led the Bears with 330 passing yards and two touchdowns on 25-of-42 attempts; Luther Burden III recorded 138 receiving yards on eight catches and one touchdown.
In the third quarter, touchdowns by Kyle Juszczyk for the 49ers and D’Andre Swift for the Bears were followed by a field goal from Cairo Santos, which put Chicago ahead 38-35 with 5:22 remaining. Purdy led a late go-ahead drive culminating in Jauan Jennings' 38-yard touchdown catch-and-run to reclaim the lead for San Francisco. The Bears' final drive ended with Williams' incomplete pass to Jahdae Walker on the last play.
Despite the loss, the Bears clinched the NFC North title due to the Packers’ loss to the Ravens, marking their first division title since 2018 and their first playoff appearance since 2020, as well as their first playoff win since 2010. Remarkably, the Bears became only the second team in the Super Bowl era to lose a regular-season game after scoring at least 25 points with a defensive touchdown and no turnovers.
